An increase in the cultivation of olive trees was prompted in the Northwestern Spain during recent years favored by the agricultural politics in the region. The aim of this study is to know the ...phenological and aerobiological behavior of the olive trees at the northern limit of the Mediterranean bioclimatic area in order to determine their thermal requirements for the development of predictive agro-phenological models for two varieties (Arbequina and Frantoio) of the new olive cultivated areas. The BBCH scale was used for the phenological observations. Chill accumulation during dormancy and heat requirements to overcome the successive phenological stages were calculated following different methods. To complete the phenology predictive models, the Mitscherlich’s monomolecular equation was applied. The monitoring of the atmospheric pollen content was conducted by means a volumetric pollen Hirst trap placed in the middle of the plot. The period of chilling accumulation was completed during the first fortnight of January with an average of 654 chilling hours and a base temperature of 7.5 °C. Considering the duration of the vegetative olive cycle around 2390°GDD (growing degree days) was necessary to overcome the ripening of berries. The proposed model for the prediction of the successive ecological events showed a deviation between 1.5 and 3.5 days on the phenological scale. The presence of
Olea
pollen grains in the atmosphere of the olive grove was registered during stage 5 and stage 6 (flowering). The Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Models confirmed that pollen peaks during the previous days to the flowering stage came from the extensive olive groves of the Northern Portugal which flowers some days in advance.
Sarcopenia is associated with poor prognosis in adult oncologic patients, with little evidence of this association in pediatric population, including hepatoblastoma.
Retrospective study in patients ...with hepatoblastoma, divided into those with or without sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was assessed by measuring psoas muscle area (PMA) at L4-L5 level on the CT/MR and defined as z-score values ≤ 2. Relapse and mortality were analyzed.
Twenty-one patients (57.1% male) were included, with median age 35.7 months (IQR: 23.5–58.5). Seven (33.3%) had sarcopenia on initial studies compared to 14 (66.7%) who did not. No differences were found between groups in age, weight, PRETEXT, surgical treatment or. α-fetoprotein levels. Sarcopenia was associated with a higher rate of metastases at diagnosis (49.2% vs 0.0%; p = 0.026) and surgical complications (57.1% vs 21.4%, p = 0.047). After a median follow-up of 65.1 months (1.7–144.8), 2 patients (28.6%) had tumor relapse in sarcopenic group compared to 1 (7.1%) in non-sarcopenic group. Two patients died in sarcopenic group and 1 in non-sarcopenic group. Median event-free survival (EFS) was lower in sarcopenic group (100.38 ± 25.63 vs 118.91 ± 11.52 months) as well as overall survival (OS) (101.72 ± 24.86 vs 121.78 ± 8.75 months) with no statistical significance. Five-year EFS was also lower in sarcopenic group (71% vs 93%) as well as 5-year OS (71% vs 87%).
Sarcopenia at diagnosis was associated with a higher rate of metastases and surgical complications in hepatoblastoma. Our data shows the first evidence of its role as a possible poor prognostic factor, influencing survival and risk of relapse.
II.
Original article. Retrospective study
•What is currently known about this topic?
Sarcopenia has been associated with bad outcomes in adult patients with cancer.
It has been described as a prognostic factor for neuroblastoma and hematological malignancies.•What new information is contained in this article?
Sarcopenia at diagnosis of hepatoblastoma is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications.
These patients have worse outcomes in terms of OS and EFS.
African swine fever (ASF) is currently the major concern of the global swine industry, as a consequence of which a reconsideration of the containment and prevention measures taken to date is urgently ...required. A great interest in developing an effective and safe vaccine against ASF virus (ASFV) infection has, therefore, recently appeared. The objective of the present study is to test an inactivated ASFV preparation under a vaccination strategy that has not previously been tested in order to improve its protective effect. The following have been considered: (i) virus inactivation by using a low binary ethyleneimine (BEI) concentration at a low temperature, (ii) the use of new and strong adjuvants; (iii) the use of very high doses (6 × 10
haemadsorption in 50% of infected cultures (HAD
)), and (iv) simultaneous double inoculation by two different routes of administration: intradermal and intramuscular. Five groups of pigs were, therefore, inoculated with BEI- Pol16/DP/OUT21 in different adjuvant formulations, twice with a 4-week interval. Six weeks later, all groups were intramuscularly challenged with 10 HAD
of the virulent Pol16/DP/OUT21 ASFV isolate. All the animals had clinical signs and pathological findings consistent with ASF. This lack of effectiveness supports the claim that an inactivated virus strategy may not be a viable vaccine option with which to fight ASF.
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) remains a global public health concern due to its epidemiological distribution and the existence of multiple strains. Neutralizing antibodies against this infection ...have shown efficacy in in vivo studies. Thus, elucidation of the epitopes of neutralizing antibodies can aid in the design and development of effective vaccines against different strains of JEV. Here, we describe a combination of native mass spectrometry (native-MS) and hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) to complete screening of eight mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against JEV E-DIII to identify epitope regions. Native-MS was used as a first pass to identify the antibodies that formed a complex with the target antigen, and it revealed that seven of the eight monoclonal antibodies underwent binding. Native mass spectra of a MAb (JEV-27) known to be non-binding showed broad native-MS peaks and poor signal, suggesting the protein is a mixture or that there are impurities in the sample. We followed native-MS with HDX-MS to locate the binding sites for several of the complex-forming antibodies. This combination of two mass spectrometry-based approaches should be generally applicable and particularly suitable for screening of antigen-antibody and other protein-protein interactions when other traditional approaches give unclear results or are difficult, unavailable, or need to be validated.
In this study, sodium alginate (SA)-based, eco-friendly nanocomposites films were synthesized for potential food packaging applications using silver nitrate (AgNO3) as the metal precursor, reactive ...nitrogen and oxygen species (RNOS) created within plasma activated water (PAW), or through cold plasma treatment (CP) as reducing agent and SA as stabilizing agent. The formation of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was confirmed via the absorption peaks observed between 440 and 450 nm in UV-vis spectroscopy. The tensile strength (TS) and tensile modulus (TM) of the nanocomposite films were significantly higher than those of the SA films. An increase in the TS was also observed as the AgNP concentration was increased from 1 to 5 mM. The storage modulus (G’) of the nanocomposite solution was higher than that of the SA solution. The synthesis of AgNPs resulted both in a higher solution viscosity and a more marked shear-thinning effect. The synthesized AgNPs showed antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) bacteria. The AgNPs were spherical in shape with an average size of 22 nm.
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) remains a leading cause of viral encephalitis worldwide. Although JEV-specific antibodies have been described, an assessment of their ability to neutralize multiple ...genotypes of JEV has been limited. Here, we describe the development of a panel of mouse and human neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) that inhibit infection in cell culture of four different JEV genotypes tested. Mechanism-of-action studies showed that many of these MAbs inhibited infection at a postattachment step, including blockade of virus fusion. Mapping studies using site-directed mutagenesis and hydrogen-deuterium exchange with mass spectrometry revealed that the lateral ridge on domain III of the envelope protein was a primary recognition epitope for our panel of strongly neutralizing MAbs. Therapeutic studies in mice demonstrated protection against lethality caused by genotype I and III strains when MAbs were administered as a single dose even 5 days after infection. This information may inform the development of vaccines and therapeutic antibodies as emerging strains and genotypic shifts become more prevalent.
Although Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a vaccine-preventable cause of viral encephalitis, the inactivated and live attenuated platforms available are derived from strains belonging to a single genotype (GIII) due to its historical prevalence in areas of JEV epidemics. Related to this, studies with vaccines and antibodies have focused on assessing the
and
protective responses to homologous or heterologous GIII strains. An epidemiological shift in JEV genotype distribution warrants the induction of broadly neutralizing antibody responses that inhibit infection of multiple JEV genotypes. Here, we generated a panel of mouse and human neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and evaluated their inhibitory activity, epitope location, and capacity for protection against multiple JEV genotypes in mice.
Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on 3‐fucosyllactose (3‐FL) as a novel food (NF) ...pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The NF is mainly composed of the human‐identical milk oligosaccharide (HiMO) 3‐FL, but it also contains d‐lactose, l‐fucose, d‐glucose and d‐galactose, and a small fraction of other related saccharides. The NF is produced by fermentation with a genetically modified strain of Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). The information provided on the manufacturing process, composition and specifications of the NF does not raise safety concerns. The applicant intends to add the NF to a variety of foods, including infant formula and follow‐on formula, food for infants and young children, food for special medical purposes and food supplements. The target population is the general population. The anticipated daily intake of 3‐FL from both proposed and combined (authorised and proposed) uses at their respective maximum use levels in all population categories does not exceed the highest intake level of 3‐FL from human milk in infants on a body weight basis. The intake of 3‐FL in breastfed infants on a body weight basis is expected to be safe also for other population groups. The intake of other carbohydrate‐type compounds structurally related to 3‐FL is also considered of no safety concern. Food supplements are not intended to be used if other foods with added 3‐FL or human milk are consumed on the same day. The Panel concludes that the NF is safe under the proposed conditions of use.
Bladder duplication (BD) is a rare malformation that is often associated to other anomalies. We report a newborn diagnosed with BD in the sagittal plane, associated to persistent urogenital sinus ...(UGS), given the opening of the vagina immediately below the bladder neck. It is the fourth time this association is reported. Surgical repair was made: both bladders were joined, the common channel was left as urethra and the vagina was descended with a vaginoplasty with an intestinal segment. She also presented an anterior anus, that required posterior mobilization. The patient is currently 3 years old with good sphincter control.
Severe mitral regurgitation (MR) following acute myocardial infarction (MI) is associated with high mortality rates and has inconclusive recommendations in clinical guidelines. We aimed to report the ...international experience of patients with secondary MR following acute MI and compare the outcomes of those treated conservatively, surgically, and percutaneously.
Retrospective international registry of consecutive patients with at least moderate-to-severe MR following MI treated in 21 centres in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. The registry included patients treated conservatively and those having surgical mitral valve repair or replacement (SMVR) or percutaneous mitral valve repair (PMVR) using edge-to-edge repair. The primary endpoint was in-hospital mortality. A total of 471 patients were included (43% female, age 73 ± 11 years): 205 underwent interventions, of whom 106 were SMVR and 99 PMVR. Patients who underwent mitral valve intervention were in a worse clinical state (Killip class ≥3 in 60% vs. 43%, P < 0.01), but yet had lower in-hospital and 1-year mortality compared with those treated conservatively 11% vs. 27%, P < 0.01 and 16% vs. 35%, P < 0.01; adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.18-0.46, P < 0.01. Surgical mitral valve repair or replacement was performed earlier than PMVR median of 12 days from MI date (interquartile range 5-19) vs. 19 days (10-40), P < 0.01. The immediate procedural success did not differ between SMVR and PMVR (92% vs. 93%, P = 0.53). However, in-hospital and 1-year mortality rates were significantly higher in SMVR than in PMVR (16% vs. 6%, P = 0.03 and 31% vs. 17%, P = 0.04; adjusted HR 3.75, 95% CI 1.55-9.07, P < 0.01).
Early intervention may mitigate the poor prognosis associated with conservative therapy in patients with post-MI MR. Percutaneous mitral valve repair can serve as an alternative for surgery in reducing MR for high-risk patients.
•The accumulated chilling units required to break latency were similar at the two viticultural Designation of Origin areas with around 700 C.H.•To complete the Ripening of the berries, the thermal ...requirements necessary were greater than 5,000 GDD, reaching higher values at the Ribeiro DO.•The Godello variety is the better adapted to the Ribeiro DO, whereas the Mencía variety is better adapted to the Ribeira Sacra DO.
The phenological behaviour of the autochthonous Godello and Mencía grape varieties in two Denominación de Origen wine regions (DO Ribeiro and Ribeira Sacra) of northwest Spain, each with different bioclimatic characteristics, was assessed. Godello is grown in both regions, while the Mencía variety is mostly cultivated in the Ribeira Sacra DO. The study traced the vegetative grapevine cycle during 2016, 2017 and 2018, using the scale proposed by the BBCH (Biologische Bundesanstalt für Land und Forstwirtschaft, Bundessortenamt und CHemische Industrie). The duration of the Godello vegetative cycle was longer in Ribeiro (an average of 188 days over the three years) than in Ribeira Sacra (176 days). The Mencía variety exhibited minor differences comparing the two vineyards analysed in Ribeira Sacra (177 days on average in Doade vs. 175 days in Souto Chao). Study of the thermal requirements from phase 03 (end of bud swelling) to phase 89 (berries ripe for harvest) enables an explanation to be given for the differences in the duration of each phenological phase for both varieties, and a decision to be made as to which is the most suitable variety for each zone, something that will have an impact on production improvement.
PDF
