Objectives
Mental health problems are highly prevalent in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and their family caregivers. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the effects of the Mindfulness-Based ...Health Care Program (MBHC) on the psychological distress of family caregivers of people with AD and, indirectly, on the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in people with AD.
Method
A sample of 66 caregivers of people with AD was randomly assigned to either 8 weeks of MBHC or treatment as usual (TAU) groups. The psychological distress in family caregivers, measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and BPSD in patients, measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q), were evaluated and compared at baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up.
Results
A total of 50 participants (75.6%) completed the MBHC post-intervention and 30 (50%) at the 3-month follow-up. At post-intervention, compared to TAU, MBHC was associated with significantly greater decreases in psychological distress (
β
= − 3.86; 95%CI, − 7.67, − 0.04;
p
= 0.047), specifically in anxiety symptoms (
β
= − 2.84; 95%CI, − 5.38, − 0.30;
p
= 0.029), but no significant changes were observed in depressive symptoms. MBHC did not produce a significant change in psychological distress at 3-month follow-up. MBHC did not yield a significant reduction in BPSD in people with AD, neither at post-intervention nor at 3-month follow-up.
Conclusions
The results suggest that 8-week mindfulness training can effectively reduce psychological distress and anxiety symptoms in caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Preregistration
This study was preregistered on ClinicalTrials.gov (identifier NCT03858283) on 26 February 2019.
Hot spring bacteria have unique biological adaptations to survive the extreme conditions of these environments; these bacteria produce thermostable enzymes that can be used in biotechnological and ...industrial applications. However, sequencing these bacteria is complex, since it is not possible to culture them. As an alternative, genome shotgun sequencing of whole microbial communities can be used. The problem is that the classification of sequences within a metagenomic dataset is very challenging particularly when they include unknown microorganisms since they lack genomic reference. We failed to recover a bacterium genome from a hot spring metagenome using the available software tools, so we develop a new tool that allowed us to recover most of this genome.
We present a proteobacteria draft genome reconstructed from a Colombian's Andes hot spring metagenome. The genome seems to be from a new lineage within the family Rhodanobacteraceae of the class Gammaproteobacteria, closely related to the genus Dokdonella. We were able to generate this genome thanks to CLAME. CLAME, from Spanish "CLAsificador MEtagenomico", is a tool to group reads in bins. We show that most reads from each bin belong to a single chromosome. CLAME is very effective recovering most of the reads belonging to the predominant species within a metagenome.
We developed a tool that can be used to extract genomes (or parts of them) from a complex metagenome.
Sweet cherry trees (Prunus avium L.) are susceptible to a range of diseases, but there have been no studies to date about the viral infection of sweet cherry trees in Spain. To determine the ...phytosanitary status of Spanish sweet cherry plantations, the incidence and leaf symptoms induced by Prune dwarf (PDV), Prunus necrotic ringspot (PNRSV) and Apple chlorotic leaf spot (ACLSV) viruses were investigated during 2009. Young leaf samples were taken from 350 sweet cherry trees, corresponding to 17 cultivars, and were analysed by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA). To associate the leaf symptoms with the virus, 50 mature leaves from each infected tree were visually inspected during the summer. The ELISA results revealed that 72 % of sweet cherry trees were infected by at least one of the viruses. PDV occurred in all sampled cultivars and presented the highest infection rate, followed by ACLSV and PNRSV. A high number of trees showed asymptomatic, in both single and mixed infections. The leaf symptoms associated with the viruses involved generalized chlorosis around the midvein (PDV), chlorotic and dark brown necrotic ringspots on both secondary veins and intervein regions (PNRSV), chlorotic and reddish necrotic ringspots (ACLSV) and generalized interveinal chlorosis (PDV-PNRSV).
A bacterial strain designated A4STR04
T
was isolated from the inner root tissue of potatoes in Spain. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the isolate into the genus
...Fontibacillus
, being most closely related to
Fontibacillus panacisegetis
KCTC 13564
T
with 99 % identity. The isolate was observed to form Gram-positive, motile and sporulating rods. The catalase test was found to be negative and oxidase positive. Nitrate was found to be reduced to nitrite. β-Galactosidase and caseinase were observed to be produced but the production of gelatinase, urease, arginine dehydrolase, ornithine and lysine decarboxylase was negative. Aesculin hydrolysis was found to be positive and acetoin production was negative. Growth was found to be supported by many carbohydrates and organic acids as carbon source. MK-7 was the only menaquinone detected and the major fatty acid (61.5 %) was identified as anteiso-C
15:0
, as occurs in the other species of genus
Fontibacillus
. The strain A4STR04
T
was found to display a complex lipid profile consisting of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, a glycolipid, two phospholipids, a lipid and two aminophospholipids. Mesodiaminopimelic acid was detected in the peptidoglycan. The G+C content was determined to be 50.5 mol% (Tm). Phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic analyses showed that strain A4STR04
T
(=LMG 28458
T
= CECT 8693
T
) should be classified as representing a novel species of genus
Fontibacillus
, for which the name
Fontibacillus solani
sp. nov. is proposed.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounting for over 85% of cases and poor prognosis in advanced stages. This study explored ...shifts in circulating metabolite levels in NSCLC patients versus healthy controls and examined the effects of conventionally fractionated radiation therapy (CFRT) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). We enrolled 91 NSCLC patients (38 CFRT and 53 SBRT) and 40 healthy controls. Plasma metabolite levels were assessed using semi-targeted metabolomics, revealing 32 elevated and 18 reduced metabolites in patients. Key discriminatory metabolites included ethylmalonic acid, maltose, 3-phosphoglyceric acid, taurine, glutamic acid, glycocolic acid, and d-arabinose, with a combined Receiver Operating Characteristics curve indicating perfect discrimination between patients and controls. CFRT and SBRT affected different metabolites, but both changes suggested a partial normalization of energy and amino acid metabolism pathways. In conclusion, metabolomics identified distinct metabolic signatures in NSCLC patients with potential as diagnostic biomarkers. The differing metabolic responses to CFRT and SBRT reflect their unique therapeutic impacts, underscoring the utility of this technique in enhancing NSCLC diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
Some strains of the former genus
Agrobacterium have high biotechnological interest and are currently misclassified. Consequently, in this study, the taxonomic status of the non-pathogenic strain
...Agrobacterium radiobacter K84, used in biological control, and the tumourigenic strain
Agrobacterium tumefaciens AKE10, able to regenerate tobacco transgenic plants, was revised. The phylogenetic analysis of the chromosomal genes
rrs,
atpD and
recA showed that they should be reclassified into
Rhizobium rhizogenes. The analysis of virulence genes located in the Ti plasmid (pTi) outside T-DNA showed a common phylogenetic origin among strains AKE10,
R. rhizogenes 163C and
A. tumefaciens (currently
R. radiobacter) C58. However, the genes located inside the T-DNA, mainly the
6b gene, of strain AKE10 were phylogenetically close to those of strain 163C but divergent from those of strain C58. Furthermore, the T-DNA of tumourigenic strains from
R. rhizogenes conferred on them the ability to regenerate tumour tissue resembling fasciation in tobacco plants. These results showed the existence of a highly mosaic genetic organization in tumourigenic strains of the genus
Rhizobium and provided evidence of the involvement of T-DNA from tumourigenic strains of
R. rhizogenes in fasciation of
Nicotiana leaves. The data further suggested that pathogenic strains of
Rhizobium could be good models to analyse bacterial evolution.
Bacteria belonging to the family Rhizobiaceae may establish beneficial or harmful relationships with plants. The legume endosymbionts contain nod and nif genes responsible for nodule formation and ...nitrogen fixation, respectively, whereas the pathogenic strains carry vir genes responsible for the formation of tumors or hairy roots. The symbiotic and pathogenic strains currently belong to different species of the genus Rhizobium and, until now, no strains able to establish symbiosis with legumes and also to induce tumors or hairy roots in plants have been reported. Here, we report for the first time the occurrence of two rhizobial strains (163C and ATCC11325T) belonging to Rhizobium rhizogenes able to induce hairy roots or tumors in plants and also to nodulate Phaseolus vulgaris under natural environmental conditions. Symbiotic plasmids (pSym) containing nod and nif genes and pTi- or pRi-type plasmids containing vir genes were found in these strains. The nodD and nifH genes of the strains from this study are phylogenetically related to those of Sinorhizobium strains nodulating P. vulgaris. The virA and virB4 genes from strain 163C are phylogenetically related to those of R. tumefaciens C58, whereas the same genes from strain ATCC 11325T are related to those of hairy root-inducing strains. These findings may be of high relevance for the better understanding of plant-microbe interactions and knowledge of rhizobial phylogenetic history.
Some varieties of sugar beet, Beta vulgaris, cultivated in northern Spain have large deformations that resemble the tumours produced by Agrobacterium species. In an attempt to isolate the agent ...responsible for these deformations, several endophytic slow-growing bacterial strains were isolated, the macroscopic morphology of which resembled that of Bradyrhizobium species. These strains were not able to produce tumours in Nicotiana tabacum plants and, based on phylogenetic analysis of their 16S rRNA, they are closely related to the genus Bradyrhizobium. Phenotypic and molecular characteristics of these strains revealed that they represent a species different from all Bradyrhizobium species previously described. Sequence analysis of the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer region indicated that these novel strains form a homogeneous group, related to Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Bradyrhizobium liaoningense and Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense. DNA-DNA hybridization confirmed that these strains represent a novel species of the genus Bradyrhizobium, for which the name Bradyrhizobium betae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is PL7HG1T (=LMG 21987T=CECT 5829T).
API 50CH and API ZYM systems were used to characterize fifty-three strains of Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus from different geographic locations and several reference strains of the ...same and different species, including other potato pathogens. Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus strains displayed a high level of homogeneity, both in carbohydrate utilization and in enzymatic activity. Using API 50CH and API ZYM it was possible to differentiate C. michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus strains from the remaining taxa analysed in this study, which included representative strains of the other subspecies of C. michiganensis as well as other bacterial pathogens affecting potatoes. Therefore, these systems could be used as an effective method to characterize C. michiganensis subsp. sepedonicus. Such a procedure would constitute an alternative system to the conventional nutritional and physiological identification tests currently included in the official methods employed in the European Union to detect and identify this bacterium. The results obtained with the API systems agreed with the current taxonomic classification of C. michiganensis, clearly separating sepedonicus from the other subspecies belonging to this species.PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
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