Several studies have documented the synergy between vancomycin/daptomycin and various beta-lactams, and clinical studies have studied this combination therapy in humans. We review the published ...literature on this topic to know the utility of the combined treatment with beta-lactams in treating bacteraemia methicillin-resistant
(MRSA) infections. Fifteen observational studies, three randomised clinical trials and three systematics reviews are analysed in this article. Observational studies used ceftaroline, cefazolin, piperacillin/tazobactam or cefepime among the beta-lactams. Clinical trials used cloxacillin or flucloxacillin as the most used beta-lactam in two trials and ceftaroline in one. Three systematic reviews are published. One of them only includes studies with vancomycin and included six studies. The other two systematic reviews include patients with daptomycin or vancomycin and included 15 and 9 studies, respectively. Adding a beta-lactam to vancomycin or daptomycin may help shorten bacteraemia and avoid recurrences in patients with MRSA bacteraemia. There is no evidence that combined therapy improves mortality. Nephrotoxicity in clinical trials precludes the use of combination therapy mainly with cloxacillin or flucloxacillin, but systematic reviews have not found a significant difference in this point in observational studies with other beta-lactams. The role of other beta-lactams such as ceftaroline should be thoroughly studied in these patients.
Abstract
Background
Rhizosphere microbiomes are fundamental for plant health, development, and productivity, but can be altered by the incidence of soil-borne pathogens. The dysbiosis (disturbance of ...the microbiome structure of healthy plants) caused by these pathogens, combined with the recruitment of beneficial microorganisms by the diseased plant, may cause shifts in the rhizosphere microbiome during the infection process. These shifts are likely to be associated with changes in the rhizosphere metabolic profile, as the biochemical dialog, or crosstalk, between host plants and their microbiome is mostly mediated by root exudates. Our objective was to elucidate the shifts in the avocado rhizosphere microbiome and associated changes in the rhizosphere metabolome induced by the infection of the oomycete
Phytophthora cinnamomi
. We also evaluated the effect of inoculating a bacterial biological control agent (BCA) of
P. cinnamomi
on the avocado rhizosphere microbiome, in the presence and absence of the pathogen, and on morphological and physiological plant variables, to confirm the potential of the BCA to alleviate the stress induced by the disease.
Dataset presentation
Here, we present a novel dataset collected from a time-course experiment with four treatments: (1) control trees; (2) trees infected with
P. cinnamomi
; (3) trees inoculated with the BCA; (4) trees infected with
P. cinnamomi
and inoculated with the BCA. During the infection process, we measured plant morphological and physiological variables and collected rhizosphere soil samples for bacterial and fungal amplicon sequencing, bacterial RNA-seq and metabolomic analyses.
Conclusions
Collectively, our data elucidate the shifts in the avocado rhizosphere microbiome after infection by
P. cinnamomi
and when inoculated with a BCA, and help understand how a pathogen or a beneficial bacterium can alter plant-microbiome crosstalk. Understanding the effect of
P. cinnamomi
or a BCA on the avocado tree physiology and on the avocado rhizosphere microbiome and metabolome will direct our search for disease biomarkers or potential pathogen antagonists, help identify metabolites related to the recruitment of microorganisms, and assist us in developing integrated disease management strategies.
The two mammalian carnivores, puma (Puma concolor) and South American grey fox (Lycalopex griseus) were studied, in a remote area located in the humid temperate forest of the coastal range of ...southern Chile. A total of six locations were selected in three landscapes: pre-mountain range, mountain range, and coast. The chosen study locations are relevant because they correspond to threatened areas with different levels of human intervention., so they offer the ideal setting for studying how different species of carnivores respond to both human presence and activities. A dataset was collected for 24 months during 2016–2018 through photo-trapping (13 camera traps placed along 50 photo-trap stations). Wes estimated the apparent occurrence and relative abundance index (RAI) of the fauna registered, by means of generalized linear models to contrast those of an apex predator, such as the puma and a sympatric mesopredator, the South American grey fox, across the three landscapes. The ecological variables assessed were the RAI of the other carnivore considered, exotic carnivores such as dogs and cats, human intervention, farmland effect, prey availability, and habitat quality. The primary hypothesis was that the apparent occurrence and RAI of puma and fox would be positively associated with the RAI of prey and livestock and negatively with human intervention. On the other hand, the secondary hypothesis dealt with the interactions between puma and fox faced with different degrees of human intervention. The results showed that the apparent occurrence of the puma was statistically explained by location only, and it was highest at the mountain range. The apparent occurrence of foxes was explained by both puma apparent occurrence and relative integrated anthropization index (INRA), being highest in the pre-mountain range. Concerning the RAI of pumas, high values were yielded by location and fox RAI. For the RAI of foxes, they were location, puma RAI, and INRA. It can be suggested that eucalyptus plantations from the pre-mountain range could offer an adequate habitat for the puma and the fox, but not the coastal range, as the mountain range could be acting as a biological barrier. Due to the nature of the data, it was not possible to detect any relevant effect between the two carnivores’ considered, between their respective preys, or the very abundant presence of dogs.
The European hare Lepus europaeus is an exotic mammal with a wide distribution potential, suggesting the presence of highly flexible anti-predation mechanisms. Through the use of camera traps, the ...activity pattern of this species was studied for two years at a site of the coastal foothills in southern Chile. During the second year it was observed that the hare maintained a non-random pattern of activity in relation to the light periods of the day. This fact suggests the adoption of anti-predator strategies, considering the variation in the presence of their predators between both years. The effect of predation on the observed temporal patterns is discussed, as well as its population fluctuations in the long term, to describe the role of this lagomorph in this type of ecosystem.
Human BCL10 deficiency causes combined immunodeficiency with bone marrow transplantation as its only curative option. To date, there are four homozygous mutations described in the literature that ...were identified in four unrelated patients. Here, we describe a fifth patient with a novel mutation and summarize what we have learned about BCL10 deficiency. Due to the severity of the disease, accurate knowledge of its clinical and immunological characteristics is instrumental for early diagnosis and adequate clinical management of the patients.
Childhood pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) remains a diagnostic challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of Xpert Ultra for the diagnosis of pulmonary TB in children in a low TB prevalence ...setting.
Prospective, multicentre, diagnostic accuracy study. Children with clinical or radiological suspicion of pulmonary TB were recruited at 11 paediatric units in Spain. Up to three gastric or sputum specimens were taken on 3 consecutive days, and analysed by Xpert MTB/RIF, Xpert Ultra and culture in parallel.
86 children were included (median age 4.9 years, IQR 2.0-10.0; 51.2% male). The final diagnosis was pulmonary TB in 75 patients (87.2%); 33 (44.0%) were microbiologically confirmed. A total of 219 specimens, comprising gastric aspirates (n=194; 88.6%) and sputum specimens (n=25; 11.4%), were analysed. Using culture as reference standard and comparing individual specimens, the sensitivity was 37.8% (14/37) for Xpert MTB/RIF and 81.1% (30/37) for Xpert Ultra (p<0.001); specificity was 98.4% (179/182) and 93.4% (170/182), respectively (p=0.02). In the per-patient analysis, considering positive results on any specimen, the sensitivity was 42.9% (9/21) for Xpert MTB/RIF and 81.0% for Xpert Ultra (17/21, p=0.01); specificity was 96.9% (63/65) and 87.7% (57/65, p=0.07), respectively.
In children with pulmonary TB in a low burden setting, Xpert Ultra has significantly higher sensitivity than the previous generation of Xpert assay and only marginally lower specificity. Therefore, in children undergoing evaluation for suspected pulmonary TB, Xpert Ultra should be used in preference to Xpert MTB/RIF whenever possible.
Sperm conjugation occurs when two or more sperm physically unite for motility or transport through the female reproductive tract. In many muroid rodent species, sperm conjugates have been shown to ...form by a single, conspicuous apical hook located on the sperm head. These sperm “trains” have been reported to be highly variable in size and, despite all the heads pointing in roughly the same direction, exhibit a relatively disordered arrangement. In some species, sperm “trains” have been shown to enhance sperm swimming speed, and thus have been suggested to be advantageous in sperm competition. Here, we assessed the behavior of sperm in the sandy inland mouse (Pseudomys hermannsburgensis), a muroid rodent that bears sperm with three apical hooks. First, we accrued genetic evidence of multiple paternity within “wild” litters to unequivocally show that sperm competition does occur in this species. Following this we utilized both in vitro and in vivo methodologies to determine whether sandy inland mouse sperm conjugate to form motile trains. Our observations of in vitro preparations of active sperm revealed that sandy inland mouse sperm exhibit rapid, progressive motility as individual cells only. Similarly, histological sections of the reproductive tracts of mated females revealed no in vivo evidence of sperm conjugate formation. We conclude that the unique, three‐hooked morphology of the sandy inland mouse sperm does not facilitate the formation of motile conjugates, and discuss our findings in relation to the different hypotheses for the evolution of the muroid rodent hook/s.
It has been suggested that the sperm hook of the muroid rodents is an evolutionary product of sperm competition, and may allow for the formation of motile sperm trains. We utilized in vitro and in vivo methodologies to assess the behaviour of the three‐hooked sperm of the Australian sandy inland mouse. We found no evidence that the sperm hooks function to form motile sperm groups in this species, and discuss alternative hypotheses for the evolution of this unique sperm morphology.
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