Plant pathogens pose increasing threats to global food security, causing yield losses that exceed 30% in food-deficit regions. Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) represents the major transboundary plant pest ...and one of the world's most damaging pathogens in terms of socioeconomic impact. Spectral screening methods are critical to detect non-visual symptoms of early infection and prevent spread. However, the subtle pathogen-induced physiological alterations that are spectrally detectable are entangled with the dynamics of abiotic stresses. Here, using airborne spectroscopy and thermal scanning of areas covering more than one million trees of different species, infections and water stress levels, we reveal the existence of divergent pathogen- and host-specific spectral pathways that can disentangle biotic-induced symptoms. We demonstrate that uncoupling this biotic-abiotic spectral dynamics diminishes the uncertainty in the Xf detection to below 6% across different hosts. Assessing these deviating pathways against another harmful vascular pathogen that produces analogous symptoms, Verticillium dahliae, the divergent routes remained pathogen- and host-specific, revealing detection accuracies exceeding 92% across pathosystems. These urgently needed hyperspectral methods advance early detection of devastating pathogens to reduce the billions in crop losses worldwide.
Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are good candidates for brain cell replacement strategies and have already been used as adjuvant treatments in neurological disorders. MSCs can be obtained from ...many different sources, and the present study compares the potential of neuronal transdifferentiation in MSCs from adult and neonatal sources (Wharton’s jelly (WhJ), dental pulp (DP), periodontal ligament (PDL), gingival tissue (GT), dermis (SK), placenta (PLAC), and umbilical cord blood (UCB)) with a protocol previously tested in bone marrow- (BM-) MSCs consisting of a cocktail of six small molecules: I-BET151, CHIR99021, forskolin, RepSox, Y-27632, and dbcAMP (ICFRYA). Neuronal morphology and the presence of cells positive for neuronal markers (TUJ1 and MAP2) were considered attributes of neuronal induction. The ICFRYA cocktail did not induce neuronal features in WhJ-MSCs, and these features were only partial in the MSCs from dental tissues, SK-MSCs, and PLAC-MSCs. The best response was found in UCB-MSCs, which was comparable to the response of BM-MSCs. The addition of neurotrophic factors to the ICFRYA cocktail significantly increased the number of cells with complex neuron-like morphology and increased the number of cells positive for mature neuronal markers in BM- and UCB-MSCs. The neuronal cells generated from UCB-MSCs and BM-MSCs showed increased reactivity of the neuronal genes TUJ1, MAP2, NF-H, NCAM, ND1, TAU, ENO2, GABA, and NeuN as well as down- and upregulation of MSC and neuronal genes, respectively. The present study showed marked differences between the MSCs from different sources in response to the transdifferentiation protocol used here. These results may contribute to identifying the best source of MSCs for potential cell replacement therapies.
During the last decade, some changes in the epidemiology of invasive infections have been reported; however, specific studies with patient-level data are scarce. The aim of this study was to describe ...and evaluate the epidemiologic changes in bloodstream infections (BSI) during the last decade in Andalucía, Spain.
Data from two prospective cohorts of BSI in adults with the same methodology performed 10 years apart in 11 hospitals (eight tertiary and three community) in Andalucía, Spain, were compared; the 2006–7 cohort study was performed between October 2006 and March 2007, and the 2016–17 cohort study was performed between October 2016 and March 2017. Population-based incidence rates were calculated and extrapolated for 1 year. Relative risk ratios were calculated between the 2 periods. Multivariate analyses were performed by logistic regression.
Overall, 1262 episodes of BSI were included, 563 (44.6%) in 2006–7 and 699 (55.3%) in 2016–17. Multivariate models selected the following changes in patients' features in 2016–17, after controlling for type of acquisition: higher age (odds ratio (OR) = 1.02; 95% confidence interval CI 1.01–1.03), lower urinary catheter (OR = 0.37; 95% CI, 0.26–0.48) and lower Pitt score (OR = 0.76; 95% CI, 0.71–0.82). Adjusted estimations considering patients' features and exposure to procedures showed a reduction in coagulase-negative staphylococci (OR = 0.47; 95% CI, 0.32–0.69), and an increase in Proteus spp. (OR = 3.12; 95% CI, 1.18–8.23) and Candida spp. (OR = 3.01; 95% CI, 1.03–8.86).
We found relevant epidemiologic changes in BSI in our area, including rates, frequency of acquisition types, changes in patient's profiles and aetiologic agents.
Background
COVID‐19 pandemic causes high global morbidity and mortality and better medical treatments to reduce mortality are needed.
Objective
To determine the added benefit of cyclosporine A (CsA), ...to low‐dose steroid treatment, in patients with COVID‐19.
Methods
Open‐label, non randomized pilot study of patients with confirmed infection of SARS‐CoV‐2 hospitalized from April to May 2020 at a single centre in Puebla, Mexico. Patients were assigned to receive either steroids or CsA plus steroids. Pneumonia severity was assessed by clinical, laboratory, and lung tomography. The death rate was evaluated at 28 days.
Results
A total of 209 adult patients were studied, 105 received CsA plus steroids (age 55.3 ± 13.3; 69% men), and 104 steroids alone (age 54.06 ± 13.8; 61% men). All patients received clarithromycin, enoxaparin and methylprednisolone or prednisone up to 10 days. Patient's death was associated with hypertension (RR = 3.5) and diabetes (RR = 2.3). Mortality was 22 and 35% for CsA and control groups (P = 0.02), respectively, for all patients, and 24 and 48.5% for patients with moderate to severe disease (P = 0.001). Higher cumulative clinical improvement was seen for the CsA group (Nelson Aalen curve, P = 0.001, log‐rank test) in moderate to severe patients. The Cox proportional hazard analysis showed the highest HR improvement value of 2.15 (1.39–3.34, 95%CI, P = 0.0005) for CsA treatment in moderate to severe patients, and HR = 1.95 (1.35–2.83, 95%CI, P = 0.0003) for all patients.
Conclusion
CsA used as an adjuvant to steroid treatment for COVID‐19 patients showed to improve outcomes and reduce mortality, mainly in those with moderate to severe disease. Further investigation through controlled clinical trials is warranted.
Background In US and European literature, Legionella pneumophila is reported as an important etiologic agent of severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), but in Chile this information is lacking. ...The aim of this study was to determine the incidence and identify predictors of severe CAP caused by L pneumophila in Santiago, Chile. Methods A multicenter, prospective clinical study lasting 18 months was conducted; it included all adult patients with severe CAP admitted to the ICUs of four hospitals in Santiago. We excluded patients who were immunocompromised, had been hospitalized in the previous 4 weeks, or presented with another disease during their hospitalization. All data for the diagnosis of severe CAP were registered, and urinary antigens for L pneumophila serogroup 1 were determined. Results A total of 104 patients with severe CAP were included (mean ± SD age, 58.3 ± 19.3 years; men, 64.4%; APACHE (Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation) II score, 16.7 ± 6.3; Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment score, 6.1 ± 3.2; Pitt Bacteremia Score, 3.4 ± 2.5; Pa o2 /F io2 , 170.8 ± 87.1). An etiologic agent was identified in 62 patients (59.6%), with the most frequent being Streptococcus pneumoniae (27 patients 26%) and L pneumophila (nine patients 8.6%). Logistic regression analysis showed that a plasma sodium level of ≤ 130 mEq/L was an independent predictor for L pneumophila severe CAP (OR, 11.3; 95% CI, 2.5-50.5; P = .002). Global mortality was 26% and 33% for L pneumophila . The Pitt bacteremia score and pneumonia score index were the best predictors of mortality. Conclusions We found that in Santiago, L pneumophila was second to S pneumoniae as the etiologic agent of severe CAP. Severe hyponatremia at admission appears to be an indicator for L pneumophila etiology in severe CAP.
This study is about clearcutting sizes, their spatial distribution, and how this affects the structure of the whole landscape when they are assessed over time. We introduced the concept of "extended ...clearcutting patches" (ECPs), which are formed aggregating adjacent patches harvested in consecutive years. The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the spatiotemporal pattern of clearcutting and ECPs at landscape level. The chosen landscape was the coastal commune of Constitución, Maule Region, in Chile, dominated by Pinus radiata D. Don plantations with a high land cover dynamic due harvesting activities. We used Landsat 5, 7 and 8 images (Surface Reflectance Tier 1) to produce yearly land cover maps from 1999 to 2016 and the approach proposed by Zhao et al. (2016) to classify them. We used 32,516 control points in the classification step obtaining a mean global accuracy of 0.94. The spatial distribution of the harvested patches is aggregated in single o accumulate years showing the long-term spatiotemporal pattern if this forestry practice. In average, ECPs have double the size than yearly harvested parches but they can be much bigger in same cases. This intensive forestry practices creates some spatiotemporal harvested complex, or extended clearcutting patches, that can have a bigger impact in functional aspects of the landscape and the wildlife present in this type of landscapes.
PDF
