We have sequenced the genome of the endangered European eel using the MinION by Oxford Nanopore, and assembled these data using a novel algorithm specifically designed for large eukaryotic genomes. ...For this 860 Mbp genome, the entire computational process takes two days on a single CPU. The resulting genome assembly significantly improves on a previous draft based on short reads only, both in terms of contiguity (N50 1.2 Mbp) and structural quality. This combination of affordable nanopore sequencing and light weight assembly promises to make high-quality genomic resources accessible for many non-model plants and animals.
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on health care systems, increasing the risks of psychological distress in health professionals. This study aims at assessing the prevalence of ...burnout and psychopathological conditions in health professionals working in a health institution in the Northern Italy, and to identify socio-demographic, work-related and psychological predictors of burnout.
Methods:
Health professionals working in the hospitals of the Istituto Auxologico Italiano were asked to participate to an online anonymous survey investigating socio-demographic data, COVID-19 emergency-related work and psychological factors, state anxiety, psychological distress, post-traumatic symptoms and burnout. Predictors of the three components of burnout were assessed using elastic net regression models.
Results:
Three hundred and thirty health professionals participated to the online survey. Two hundred and thirty-five health professionals (71.2%) had scores of state anxiety above the clinical cutoff, 88 (26.8%) had clinical levels of depression, 103 (31.3%) of anxiety, 113 (34.3%) of stress, 121 (36.7%) of post-traumatic stress. Regarding burnout, 107 (35.7%) had moderate and 105 (31.9%) severe levels of emotional exhaustion; 46 (14.0%) had moderate and 40 (12.1%) severe levels of depersonalization; 132 (40.1%) had moderate and 113 (34.3%) severe levels of reduced personal accomplishment. Predictors of all the three components of burnout were work hours, psychological comorbidities, fear of infection and perceived support by friends. Predictors of both emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were female gender, being a nurse, working in the hospital, being in contact with COVID-19 patients. Reduced personal accomplishment was also predicted by age.
Conclusions:
Health professionals had high levels of burnout and psychological symptoms during the COVID-19 emergency. Monitoring and timely treatment of these conditions is needed.
Dolutegravir (DGV) is one of the preferred antiretroviral agents in first-line combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Though considered to be a well tolerated drug, we aimed to determine the ...actual rate, timing and detailed motivation of stopping DGV in a real-life clinical setting.
A cohort study including all patients who started DGV in two HIV treatment centers in The Netherlands.
All cART-naïve and cART-experienced patients who had started DGV were identified from the institutional HIV databases. Clinical data, including motivation and timing of discontinuation of DGV, were extracted from the patient files. Factors that potentially influenced discontinuation of DGV were compared between patients who stopped or continued DGV by multivariate and Kaplan-Meier analyses.
In total, 556 patients were included, of whom 102 (18.4%) were cART-naïve at initiation of DGV. Median follow-up time was 225 days. Overall, in 85 patients (15.3%), DGV was stopped. In 76 patients (13.7%), this was due to intolerability. Insomnia and sleep disturbance (5.6%), gastrointestinal complaints (4.3%) and neuropsychiatric symptoms such as anxiety, psychosis and depression (4.3%) were the predominant reasons for switching DGV. In regimens that included abacavir, DGV was switched more frequently (adjusted relative risk 1.92, 95% confidence interval 1.09-3.38, P log-rank 0.01). No virologic failures were observed.
A relatively high rate of preliminary discontinuation of DGV due to intolerability was detected in our patient population. In particular, DGV was stopped more frequently if the regimen included abacavir. Multiple factors may explain these unexpected postmarketing observations, which warrant further investigation.
When a mother's milk is unavailable, the best alternative is donor milk (DM). Milk delivered to Human Milk Banks should be pasteurized in order to inactivate the microbial agents that may be present. ...Currently, pasteurization, performed at 62.5 °C for 30 min (Holder Pasteurization, HoP), is recommended for this purpose in international guidelines. Several studies have been performed to investigate the effects of HoP on the properties of DM. The present paper has the aim of reviewing the published papers on this topic, and to provide a comparison of the reported variations of biologically-active DM components before and after HoP. This review was performed by searching the MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINHAL and Cochrane Library databases. Studies that clearly identified the HoP parameters and compared the same DM samples, before and after pasteurization, were focused on. A total of 44 articles satisfied the above criteria, and were therefore selected. The findings from the literature report variable results. A possible explanation for this may be the heterogeneity of the test protocols that were applied. Moreover, the present review spans more than five decades, and modern pasteurizers may be able to modify the degradation kinetics for heat-sensitive substances, compared to older ones. Overall, the data indicate that HoP affects several milk components, although it is difficult to quantify the degradation degree. However, clinical practices demonstrate that many beneficial properties of DM still persist after HoP.
Zebrafish has been largely accepted as a vertebrate multidisciplinary model but its usefulness as a model for exercise physiology has been hampered by the scarce knowledge on its swimming economy, ...optimal swimming speeds and cost of transport. Therefore, we have performed individual and group-wise swimming experiments to quantify swimming economy and to demonstrate the exercise effects on growth in adult zebrafish.
Individual zebrafish (n = 10) were able to swim at a critical swimming speed (U(crit)) of 0.548±0.007 m s(-1) or 18.0 standard body lengths (BL) s(-1). The optimal swimming speed (U(opt)) at which energetic efficiency is highest was 0.396±0.019 m s(-1) (13.0 BL s(-1)) corresponding to 72.26±0.29% of U(crit). The cost of transport at optimal swimming speed (COT(opt)) was 25.23±4.03 µmol g(-1) m(-1). A group-wise experiment was conducted with zebrafish (n = 83) swimming at U(opt) for 6 h day(-1) for 5 days week(-1) for 4 weeks vs. zebrafish (n = 84) that rested during this period. Swimming zebrafish increased their total body length by 5.6% and body weight by 41.1% as compared to resting fish. For the first time, a highly significant exercise-induced growth is demonstrated in adult zebrafish. Expression analysis of a set of muscle growth marker genes revealed clear regulatory roles in relation to swimming-enhanced growth for genes such as growth hormone receptor b (ghrb), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor a (igf1ra), troponin C (stnnc), slow myosin heavy chain 1 (smyhc1), troponin I2 (tnni2), myosin heavy polypeptide 2 (myhz2) and myostatin (mstnb).
From the results of our study we can conclude that zebrafish can be used as an exercise model for enhanced growth, with implications in basic, biomedical and applied sciences, such as aquaculture.
A mixture of neutral short chain galactooligosaccharides and long chain fructo-oligosaccharides (scGOS/lcFOS) has been shown to have prebiotic and immunomodulatory effects comparable to human milk ...oligosaccharides. This can be translated into clinical practice as a potential to prevent infections and allergy. The hypothesis of this study was that this specific prebiotic mixture could have a preventive effect against infections during the first 6 mo of life. In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, healthy term infants with a parental history of atopy were fed either prebiotic-supplemented (8 g/L scGOS/lcFOS) or placebo-supplemented (8 g/L maltodextrin) hypoallergenic formula during the first 6 mo of life. The primary outcome measures were infectious episodes, number of infections requiring antibiotics, and incidence of infections. During the study period, infants in the scGOS/lcFOS group had fewer episodes of all types of infections combined (P = 0.01). They also tended to have fewer upper respiratory tract infection episodes (P = 0.07) and fewer infections requiring antibiotic treatment (P = 0.10). Similarly, the cumulative incidence of recurring infections was significantly lower in the scGOS/lcFOS group. The cumulative incidence of any recurring infection and recurring respiratory infections was 3.9 and 2.9% in the scGOS/lcFOS group and 13.5 and 9.6% in the placebo group, respectively (P < 0.05). Oligosaccharide prebiotics reduced the number of infectious episodes and the incidence of recurring, particularly respiratory, infections during the first 6 mo of life. Although the exact mechanism of action is under investigation, it is very likely that the immune modulating effect of this prebiotic mixture through intestinal flora modification is the principal mechanism for the observed infection prevention early in life.
A mixture of neutral short-chain galactooligosaccharides (scGOS) and long-chain fructooligosaccharides (lcFOS) has been shown to reduce the incidence of atopic dermatitis (AD) and infectious episodes ...during the first 6 mo of life. This dual protection occurred through the intervention period. The present study evaluated if these protective effects were lasting beyond the intervention period. In a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, healthy term infants with a parental history of atopy were fed either a prebiotic-supplemented (8 g/L scGOS/lcFOS) or placebo-supplemented (8 g/L maltodextrin) hypoallergenic formula during the first 6 mo of life. Following this intervention period, blind follow-up continued until 2 y of life. Primary endpoints were cumulative incidence of allergic manifestations. Secondary endpoints were number of infectious episodes and growth. Of 152 participants, 134 infants (68 in placebo, 66 in intervention group) completed the follow-up. During this period, infants in the scGOS/lcFOS group had significantly lower incidence of allergic manifestations. Cumulative incidences for AD, recurrent wheezing, and allergic urticaria were higher in the placebo group, (27.9, 20.6, and 10.3%, respectively) than in the intervention group (13.6, 7.6, and 1.5%) (P < 0.05). Infants in the scGOS/lcFOS group had fewer episodes of physician-diagnosed overall and upper respiratory tract infections (P < 0.01), fever episodes (P < 0.00001), and fewer antibiotic prescriptions (P < 0.05). Growth was normal and similar in both groups. Early dietary intervention with oligosaccharide prebiotics has a protective effect against both allergic manifestations and infections. The observed dual protection lasting beyond the intervention period suggests that an immune modulating effect through the intestinal flora modification may be the principal mechanism of action.
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