•Estimating predation rates is important for evaluating the effects of predators on their prey.•We develop a broadly applicable method to estimate relative predation rates using quantitative ...molecular gut content data.•This is illustrated with two examples to show how relative predation rates can be used.
The problem of estimating predation rates from molecular gut content data has been challenging. Previous work showed how per capita predation rates could be estimated from quantitative molecular gut content data using the average prey quantity in the predator, the decay rate of the prey in the predator and a conversion constant to convert measured prey quantity into prey numbers or biomass. Based on this previous work, we developed and illustrated a method to estimate relative per capita predation rates for a single prey species consumed by one predator species. This method does not require estimation of either the decay rate of the prey in the predator or the conversion constant. We describe how gut content data from qPCR, quantitative ELISA, metabarcoding and unassembled shotgun reads (Lazaro) can be used to estimate relative per capita predation rates. The method was used to estimate the relative per capita predation rate in a laboratory feeding trial to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the method using Lazaro data. Ten independent estimates were statistically similar, but precision was related to the number of observed prey reads. We estimated the relative per capita predation rate by the ant Pheidole flavens on another ant Pheidole tristis in a field experiment and by the ladybeetle Hippodamia convergens on the aphid Lipaphis pseudobrassicae on organic production farms. We found that higher P. flavens activity-density was associated with lower relative per capita predation rates, therefore indicating lower predation rates on P. tristis. The absence of variation among farms in relative per capita predation by H. convergens suggested that the farms were biological replicates. Using relative per capita predation rates can provide a rapid way to assess how a predator–prey interaction changes over space and time and may help identify factors that limit or enhance biological control of pests.
Orchid mycorrhizal fungi (OMF) from the rhizoctonia aggregate are generally considered to be soil saprotrophs, but their ability to utilize various nutrient sources has been studied in a limited ...number of isolates cultivated predominantly in liquid media, although rhizoctonia typically grow on the surface of solid substrates. Nine isolates representing the key OMF families (Ceratobasidiaceae, Tulasnellaceae and Serendipitaceae), sampled in Southern France and the Czech Republic, were tested for their ability to utilize carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) sources
in both liquid and solid media. The isolates showed significant inter- and intra-familiar variability in nutrient utilization, most notably in N sources. Isolates produced generally larger amounts of dry biomass on solid medium than in liquid one, but some isolates showed no or limited biomass production on solid medium with particular nutrient sources. The largest amount of biomass was produced by isolates from the family Ceratobasidiaceae on most sources in both medium types. The biomass production of Tulasnellaceae isolates was affected by their phylogenetic relatedness on all sources and medium types. The ability of isolates to utilize particular nutrients in a liquid medium but not a solid one should be considered when optimizing solid media for symbiotic orchid seed germination and in understanding of OMF functional traits under
conditions.
Research utilization and evidence-based practice (EBP) in occupational therapy rely on essential scientific skills. Despite prior research exploring factors influencing EBP, a gap remains in ...understanding the specific scientific competencies crucial for effective EBP application.
To (1) describe the level of scientific skills for EBP and research application, and (2) investigate the factors influencing higher scientific competence among 1159 Spanish-speaking occupational therapists.
We assessed the scientific skills using the HACTO-Screen online survey. Recruitment was conducted through a non-probability convenience sampling method between April to June 2020, using social networks and email dissemination to education and professional organizations in Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin American countries.
Out of a total score of 115 points, participants showed a moderate level of scientific skills (mean: 62.7, SD: 21.6), with literature searching skills ranking the highest and scientific writing skills ranking the lowest. Associations were found between greater scientific competence and advanced degrees, ongoing research training, and on-the-job research.
Continuous research training, higher academic degrees, and active research engagement are essential for enhancing scientific competence among occupational therapists.
Targeted training to enhance scientific skills and promote research utilization are crucial in advancing EBP in occupational therapy.
Importance: Adequate reporting in the abstracts of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) is essential to enable occupational therapy practitioners to critically appraise the validity of findings. ...Objective: To evaluate the reporting quality and characteristics of RCT abstracts published between 2008 and 2018 in the occupational therapy journals with the five highest impact factors in 2018. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Data Sources: The American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT), Australian Occupational Therapy Journal (AOTJ), Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy (CJOT), Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy (SJOT), and Physical and Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics (POTP) were identified using a Web of Science search. Study Selection and Data Collection: We searched Scopus for abstracts in the five included journals. We used a 17-point scale based on the CONSORT for s (CONSORT-A) checklist to assess reporting quality. We also identified characteristics of the abstracts. Findings: Seventy-eight RCT abstracts were assessed and showed moderate to low adherence to the CONSORTA checklist (Mdn = 8, interquartile range = 7-9). s of articles with authors from a higher number of institutions, European first authors, and >200 words had higher CONSORT-A scores. The most underreported CONSORT-A items were trial design, blinding, numbers analyzed, outcome (results), harms, trial registration, and funding. Conclusions and Relevance: Between 2008 and 2018, the reporting quality in RCT abstracts from the five highest impact occupational therapy journals was moderate to low. Inadequate reporting in RCT abstracts raises the risk that occupational therapy practitioners will make ineffective clinical decisions based on misinterpretation of findings. What This Article Adds: Reporting quality in RCT abstracts in occupational therapy journals is moderate to low. Journal editors should require authors of RCTs to use the CONSORT-A checklist to promote optimal reporting and transparency in abstracts.
ABSTRACT
Background
The clinical picture of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-associated sepsis is similar to that of sepsis of other aetiologies. The present study aims to analyse the role of ...syndecan-1 (SDC-1) as a potential predictor of septic shock in critically ill patients with COVID-19.
Methods
This is a prospective study of 86 critically ill patients due to COVID-19 infection. Patients were followed until day 28 of hospitalization. Vascular biomarkers, such as vascular cell adhesion protein-1, SDC-1, angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2, were quantified upon admission and associated with the need for vasopressors in the first 7 d of hospitalization.
Results
A total of 86 patients with COVID-19 (mean age 60±16 y; 51 men 59%) were evaluated. Thirty-six (42%) patients died during hospitalization and 50 (58%) survived. The group receiving vasopressors had higher levels of D-dimer (2.46 ng/ml interquartile range {IQR} 0.6–6.1 vs 1.01 ng/ml IQR 0.62–2.6, p=0.019) and lactate dehydrogenase (929±382 U/l vs 766±312 U/l, p=0.048). The frequency of deaths during hospitalization was higher in the group that received vasoactive amines in the first 24 h in the intensive care unit (70% vs 30%, p=0.002). SDC-1 levels were independently associated with the need for vasoactive amines, and admission values >269 ng/ml (95% CI 0.524 to 0.758, p=0.024) were able to predict the need for vasopressors during the 7 d following admission.
Conclusions
Syndecan-1 levels predict septic shock in critically ill patients with COVID-19.
The collection of field-reference data is a key task in remote sensing-based forest inventories. However, traditional methods of collection demand extensive personnel resources. Thus, field-reference ...data collection would benefit from more automated methods. In this study, we proposed a method for individual tree detection (ITD) and stem attribute estimation based on a car-mounted mobile laser scanner (MLS) operating along forest roads. We assessed its performance in six ranges with increasing mean distance from the roadside. We used a Riegl VUX-1LR sensor operating with high repetition rate, thus providing detailed cross sections of the stems. The algorithm we propose was designed for this sensor configuration, identifying the cross sections (or arcs) in the point cloud and aggregating those into single trees. Furthermore, we estimated diameter at breast height (DBH), stem profiles, and stem volume for each detected tree. The accuracy of ITD, DBH, and stem volume estimates varied with the trees’ distance from the road. In general, the proximity to the sensor of branches 0–10 m from the road caused commission errors in ITD and over estimation of stem attributes in this zone. At 50–60 m from roadside, stems were often occluded by branches, causing omissions and underestimation of stem attributes in this area. ITD’s precision and sensitivity varied from 82.8% to 100% and 62.7% to 96.7%, respectively. The RMSE of DBH estimates ranged from 1.81 cm (6.38%) to 4.84 cm (16.9%). Stem volume estimates had RMSEs ranging from 0.0800 m3 (10.1%) to 0.190 m3 (25.7%), depending on the distance to the sensor. The average proportion of detected reference volume was highly affected by the performance of ITD in the different zones. This proportion was highest from 0 to 10 m (113%), a zone that concentrated most ITD commission errors, and lowest from 50 to 60 m (66.6%), mostly due to the omission errors in this area. In the other zones, the RMSE ranged from 87.5% to 98.5%. These accuracies are in line with those obtained by other state-of-the-art MLS and terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) methods. The car-mounted MLS system used has the potential to collect data efficiently in large-scale inventories, being able to scan approximately 80 ha of forests per day depending on the survey setup. This data collection method could be used to increase the amount of field-reference data available in remote sensing-based forest inventories, improve models for area-based estimations, and support precision forestry development.
"Tourism can enhance regions with relevant endogenous resources where gastronomy can assert itself as a strategic product due to its contribution to the tourism experience. The present research ...focused on the relevance of gastronomy to the development of tourism in the Serra da Estrela region, for which a qualitative analysis was carried out based on a case study ‑ the Museu do Pão museum complex ‑ through semi‑structured interviews with the directors of the Museu do Pão (Bread Museum) and the Municipality of Seia, in accordance with the literature and articulated with the research question and objectives. As a result, it was found that gastronomy makes a strong contribution to the sustainable development of the territory under study, with the Museu do Pão playing a central role in this process. This suggests that the valorisation of this asset in Serra da Estrela has an analogous function to other regions with similar characteristics."
We assessed the association between adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD) and sensory processing in 583 Spanish children aged 3-7 years from the InProS project in Alicante, Spain. Child sensory ...processing was measured using the short sensory profile (SSP); atypical sensory performance was defined as SSP total score <155; tactile sensitivity <30; taste/smell sensitivity <15; movement sensitivity <13; under-responsive/seeks sensation <27; auditory filtering <23; low energy/weak <26; and visual/auditory sensitivity <19 scores. Adherence to the MD was measured using the Mediterranean diet quality index KIDMED. Multiple Poisson regression models with robust variance, based on the Huber sandwich estimate, were used to obtain prevalence ratios (PR). Our findings suggested that a lower prevalence of atypical tactile and taste/smell sensitivity were associated with having medium (PR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.25; 0.99; PR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.33; 0.99, respectively) and high adherence to the MD (PR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.34; 0.99; PR = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.19; 0.60, respectively), and of atypical low energy/weak with having medium adherence to the MD (PR = 0.37, 95% CI: 0.16; 0.83). A two-point increase in adherence to the MD showed a general positive effect against atypical sensory performance, although it was statistically significant on taste/smell sensitivity (PR = 0.71, 95% CI: 0.59; 0.85) and low energy/weak (PR = 0.80, 95% CI: 0.64; 0.99) subscales. To our knowledge, this is the first study that shows a protective effect of adherence to the MD against prevalence of atypical sensory processing in school-aged children. Further research from longitudinal studies is required to confirm these findings.
Foliar endophytic bacteria and fungi are increasingly being recognized as important drivers of plant host phenotype—affecting a wide range of eco‐physiological processes. However, we are still ...lacking fundamental ecosystem‐level knowledge about the structure, function and inter‐species interactions in endophytic assemblages associated with plant hosts sharing a common life strategy or ecological specialization.
In this study, we chose two groups of plants with contrasting physiology as model systems: parasites and their hosts. We assessed whether plant life‐history strategy, namely differences in nutrient acquisition and accumulation, plays a role in structuring above‐ground microbiomes under field conditions.
We focused on the structure, colonization extent and potential function of foliar endophytic bacteria and fungi in three root hemiparasitic species (Orobanchaceae), one stem holoparasite (Convolvulaceae), and their potential host plants co‐occurring in species‐rich temperate grassland ecosystems. For this purpose, we combined next generation amplicon sequencing with quantitative real‐time PCR, chemical analyses of leaf tissue, and, in the case of bacteria, functional predictions using information deposited in available databases.
We found the foliar endophytic assemblages to be diverse, dominated by generalist taxa, but highly similar across all studied species. Despite of the highly contrasting leaf tissue chemistry in the parasitic and non‐parasitic plant species, the parasitic trophic mode did not induce systematic shifts in the diversity, composition or predicted biogeochemical function of the endophytic microbiomes under field conditions. However, compared to their potential hosts, leaves of both hemiparasitic and holoparasitic species harboured significantly lower fungal counts, estimated as ß‐actin gene copies ng DNA−1, which suggests that parasitic plants may possess mechanisms to regulate the extent of colonization by endophytic fungi.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Resumo
Bactérias e fungos endofíticos foliares são cada vez mais reconhecidos como importantes agentes ambientais para o fenótipo das plantas hospedeiras, afetando uma gama de processos ecofisiológicos. Contudo, ainda há uma lacuna no conhecimento ecossistêmico sobre a estrutura, função e interações interespecíficas das comunidades endofíticas e suas plantas hospedeiras que compartilham uma estratégia de vida comum ou uma especialização ecológica.
Nesse estudo dois grupos de plantas com fisiologias distintas foram escolhidas como modelo: plantas parasitas e seus hospedeiros. Nós avaliamos o quanto a estratégia de vida, sobretudo diferenças na aquisição e acumulação de nutrientes, desempenha um papel na estrutura dos microbiomas endofíticos foliares sob condições naturais.
Nós focamos na estrutura, colonização e potenciais funções ecológicas de batérias e fungos endofíticos foliares em três espécies de plantas hemiparasitas de raízes (Orobanchaceae), uma holoparasita de caule (Convolvulaceae), e seus prováveis hospedeiros co‐ocorrendo em ecossistemas de pradarias temperadas com grande diversidade biológica. Para isso, nós usamos sequenciamento de nova geração, PCR em tempo real, análises químicas dos tecidos foliares e, em particular para bactérias, o perfil funcional baseado em informações disponíveis em banco de dado.
Nós encontramos uma diversa comunidade endofítica foliar, dominada por táxons generalistas, mas muito similares em todas as espécies de plantas estudadas. Apesar do contraste na composição química foliar entre as plantas parasitas e não‐parasitas, o perfil trófico das plantas parasitas não induziu mudanças sistemáticas na diversidade, composição e potenciais funções biogeoquímicas dos microbiomas endofíticos em condições naturais. No entanto, as folhas de espécies hemiparasitas e holoparasitas, comparadas com seus potenciais hospedeiros, possuíam uma quantidade de fungos significativamente menor, estimada pelo número de cópias do gene ß‐actina por ng de DNA, o qual sugere que as plantas parasitas possuem um mecanismo para regular a colonização de fungos endofíticos.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
The aim of this study was to develop a formulation, containing the propolis standardized extract (EPP-AF(®)), which can assist in the healing of skin lesions. To achieve this objective the ...antimicrobial activity and chemical composition of the propolis extract was determined. The final product was subjected to in vitro and in vivo pre-clinical evaluation. The broth macrodilution method was used to determine the antimicrobial activity of the extracts and formulations against the microorganisms most commonly found in burns, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Wistar rats with puncture wounded skin were used to evaluate the wound healing properties of propolis. The results of chemical and biological characterization demonstrated the batch-to-batch reproducibility of the standardized extract which is an unprecedented result. The antimicrobial and wound healing activity of the pharmaceutical studied showed the best results when samples contain 3.6% propolis, suggesting that this is the most promising composition.
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