Culture Collection Research Articles

Expansion of the multi-locus gene alignment approach to improve identification of the fungal species Alternaria alternata

Alternaria alternata is part of a genus comprised of over 600 different species that occur all over the world and cause damage to humans, plants and thereby to the economy. Yet, even though some species are causing tremendous issues, the past years have shown that assigning newly found isolates to known species was rather inconsistent. Most identifications are usually done on the basis of spore morphology, chemotype and molecular markers. In this work we used strains isolated from the wild as well as commercial strains of the DSMZ (German collection of microorganisms and cell cultures) as a reference, to show, that the variation within the Alternaria alternata species is comparable to the variation between different species of the genus Alternaria in regards to spore morphology and chemotype. We compared the different methods of identification and discerned the concatenation of multiple molecular markers as the deciding factor for better identification. Up until this point, usually a concatenation of two or three traditional molecular markers was used. Some of those markers being stronger some weaker. We show that the concatenation of five molecular markers improves the likeliness of a correct assignment, thus a better distinction between the different Alternaria species.

Unsociability and social adjustment in Chinese preschool migrant children: the moderating role of receptive vocabulary.

Peer relationships play an indispensable role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. However, children exhibiting social withdrawal, such as unsociability, may face challenges in social adjustment. In collectivistic cultures like China, unsociability may be perceived negatively, aligning poorly with collective norms. The objective of the present investigation was to examine the associations between unsociability, receptive vocabulary, and indicators of social adjustment in a cohort of young migrant children residing in urban regions of mainland China. The study mainly aimed to investigate the potential moderating influence of receptive language on these associations. The study involved 148 young children (82 boys, 66 girls, Mage = 62.32 months, SD = 6.76) enrolled in preschools or kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multiple sources of assessment were utilized, encompassing evaluations from mothers (about child unsociability), teacher (assessing social adjustment), and standardized tests (measuring receptive vocabulary). The results indicated that the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more positive among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Similarly, the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more negative among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Thus, this study informs us about how receptive vocabulary is jointly associated with unsociable children's development. As well, the findings highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of unsociability in Chinese culture.

Genetic organization of an M protein trans-acting positive regulator (Mga) orthologue and its adjacent M-like protein (SCM) alleles in Streptococcus canis

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to identify the M protein trans-acting positive regulator (Mga) orthologue and its adjacent M-like protein (SCM) alleles in Streptococcus canis.ResultsUsing the 39 SCM allele isolates and polymerase chain reaction-based amplification and sequencing, we obtained the deduced Mga amino acid (AA) sequences. The 22 Mga sequences in whole-genome sequences were obtained by searching the National Collection of Type Cultures 12,191(T) Mga sequence into the database. The percentage identity to the type-strain Mga sequence was examined along with its size. The presence of the Mga-specific motifs was confirmed. Of the 62 strains, we identified 59 Mga sequences with an AA size of 509 (except for four different sizes). Percentage identity ranged from 96.66 to 100% with the confirmed Mga-specific motifs and diverse SCM allele populations. Our findings support the presence of an Mga orthologue and diverse SCM allele populations.

Axenic Culture and DNA Barcode Identification of Wood Decay Fungi from the Maltese Islands

Wood-decaying fungi are important study subjects for their ecological role as well as for their biotechnological applications. They break down lignin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses using enzymes that modify the chemical structure of these complex macromolecules. Due to their ability to degrade wood, these fungi can create structural damage to wooden structures and to trees, especially those with very low level of fitness. Previous studies on wood decay fungi in the Maltese Islands are limited to records and checklists described by a handful of authors. The aim of this study was to provide a comprehensive description of wood decay fungal diversity in the Maltese Islands including an updated checklist based on DNA barcoding, as well as to establish the first wood-decay fungal culture collection at the Biology Department Seed Bank of the University of Malta. Several surveys were carried out during the rainy season along wooded areas of the Maltese Islands as well as in historical gardens. Isolates were identified using macro- and micro-morphological features, dichotomous keys, as well as molecular data. Basidiomes were recorded growing on 14 different host plant species, 11 axenic cultures have been made and 9 species of wood decay fungi have been conclusively identified by DNA barcoding. The collection of the axenic isolates includes one of Aurificaria cf. euphoria, three of Ganoderma resinaceum sl., two of Laetiporus sulphureus, one of Inonotus sp., one of Inonotus rickii anamorph, one of Inocutis tamaricis, one of Stereum hirsutum, and one of Pleurotus eryngii. However, the mycelium of Coriolopsis gallica, though collected and identified, could not be isolated.

Examining health apps and wearable use in improving physical and mental well-being across U.S., China, and Singapore

Health apps and wearables are touted to improve physical health and mental well-being. However, it is unclear from existing research the extent to which these health technologies are efficacious in improving physical and mental well-being at a population level, particularly for the underserved groups from the perspective of health equity and social determinants. Also, it is unclear if the relationship between health apps and wearables use and physical and mental well-being differs across individualistic, collectivistic, and a mix of individual–collectivistic cultures. A large-scale online survey was conducted in the U.S. (individualist culture), China (collectivist culture), and Singapore (mix of individual–collectivist culture) using quota sampling after obtaining ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB-2021-262) of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. There was a total of 1004 respondents from the U.S., 1072 from China, and 1017 from Singapore. Data were analyzed using multiple regression and negative binomial regression. The study found that income consistently had the strongest relationship with physical and mental well-being measures in all three countries, while the use of health apps and wearables only had a moderate association with psychological well-being only in the US. Health apps and wearables were associated with the number of times people spent exercising and some mental health outcomes in China and Singapore, but they were only positively associated with psychological well-being in the US. The study emphasizes the importance of considering the social determinants, social–cultural context of the population, and the facilitating conditions for the effective use of digital health technologies. The study suggests that the combined use of both health apps and wearables is most strongly associated with better physical and mental health, though this association is less pronounced when individuals use only apps or wearables.

It takes two to tango: Spousal risk preferences and CEO risk-taking behavior

Using hand-collected data on the cultural origins of S&P 500 CEOs and their spouses, we examine whether differences in risk attitudes within marriages influence corporate risk-taking behavior. We find that CEOs with more risk averse spouses adopt relatively safer corporate policies. The effect is stronger if the CEO comes from a more collectivist culture, has been married more recently, or shares more responsibilities with their spouse. Together, these findings suggest that the cultural composition of CEOs’ households and their spouses’ risk preference affect corporate risk-taking behavior.

Biodiversity of Trichoderma species of healthy and Fusarium wilt-infected banana rhizosphere soils in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain).

Banana (Musa acuminata) is the most important crop in the Canary Islands (38.9% of the total cultivated area). The main pathogen affecting this crop is the soil fungal Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense subtropical race 4 (Foc-STR4), for which there is no effective control method under field conditions. Therefore, the use of native biological control agents may be an effective and sustainable alternative. This study aims to: (i) investigate the diversity and distribution of Trichoderma species in the rhizosphere of different banana agroecosystems affected by Foc-STR4 in Tenerife (the island with the greatest bioclimatic diversity and cultivated area), (ii) develop and preserve a culture collection of native Trichoderma species, and (iii) evaluate the influence of soil chemical properties on the Trichoderma community. A total of 131 Trichoderma isolates were obtained from 84 soil samples collected from 14 farms located in different agroecosystems on the northern (cooler and wetter) and southern (warmer and drier) slopes of Tenerife. Ten Trichoderma species, including T. afroharzianum, T. asperellum, T. atrobrunneum, T. gamsii, T. guizhouense, T. hamatum, T. harzianum, T. hirsutum, T. longibrachiatum, and T. virens, and two putative novel species, named T. aff. harzianum and T. aff. hortense, were identified based on the tef1-α sequences. Trichoderma virens (35.89% relative abundance) and T. aff. harzianum (27.48%) were the most abundant and dominant species on both slopes, while other species were observed only on one slope (north or south). Biodiversity indices (Margalef, Shannon, Simpson, and Pielou) showed that species diversity and evenness were highest in the healthy soils of the northern slope. The Spearman analysis showed significant correlations between Trichoderma species and soil chemistry parameters (mainly with phosphorus and soil pH). To the best of our knowledge, six species are reported for the first time in the Canary Islands (T. afroharzianum, T. asperellum, T. atrobrunneum, T. guizhouense, T. hamatum, T. hirsutum) and in the rhizosphere of banana soils (T. afroharzianum, T. atrobrunneum, T. gamsii, T. guizhouense, T. hirsutum, T. virens). This study provides essential information on the diversity/distribution of native Trichoderma species for the benefit of future applications in the control of Foc-STR4.

Discovery and characterization of a novel pathogen Erwinia pyri sp. nov. associated with pear dieback: taxonomic insights and genomic analysis.

In 2022, a novel disease similar to pear fire blight was found in a pear orchard in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, China. The disease mainly damages the branches, leaves, and fruits of the plant. To identify the pathogen, tissue isolation and pathogenicity testing (inoculating the potential pathogen on healthy plant tissues) were conducted. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis encompassing the pathogen's morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics and whole-genome sequencing was conducted. The results showed that among the eight isolates, the symptoms on the detached leaves and fruits inoculated with isolate DE2 were identical to those observed in the field. Verifying Koch's postulates confirmed that DE2 was the pathogenic bacterium that causes the disease. Based on a 16S rRNA phylogenetic tree, isolate DE2 belongs to the genus Erwinia. Biolog and API 20E results also indicated that isolate DE2 is an undescribed species of Erwinia. Isolate DE2 was negative for oxidase. Subsequently, the complete genome sequence of isolate DE2 was determined and compared to the complete genome sequences of 29 other Erwinia species based on digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) analyses. The ANI and dDDH values between strain DE2 and Erwinia species were both below the species thresholds (ANI < 95-96%, dDDH<70%), suggesting that isolate DE2 is a new species of Erwinia. We will temporarily name strain DE2 as Erwinia pyri sp. nov. There were 548 predicted virulence factors in the genome of strain DE2, comprising 534 on the chromosome and 5 in the plasmids. The whole genome sequence of strain DE2 has been submitted to the NCBI database (ASM3075845v1) with accession number GCA_030758455.1. The strain DE2 has been preserved at the China Center for Type Culture Collection (CCTCC) under the deposit number CCTCC AB 2024080. This study represents the initial report of a potentially new bacterial species in the genus Erwinia that causes a novel pear dieback disease. The findings provide a valuable strain resource for the study of the genus Erwinia and establish a robust theoretical foundation for the prevention and control of emerging pear dieback diseases.

Southern blight of water lily: The first host record of Agroathelia rolfsii on Nelumbo nucifera discovered in Florida, USA.

Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. (Nelumbonaceae, Eudicots), also known as water lily or sacred lotus, is a nonnative and invasive plant commonly found in artificial ponds and natural lakes throughout Florida (UF-IFAS 2023; Wunderlin et al. 2023). In August 2020, a single sample of water lily plants showing large leaf spots were collected at a residence in Dunnellon, Marion County, Florida (80% disease prevalence with 40% leaf coverage). Symptoms and signs of the disease were necrotized adaxial leaf spots only, bordered by whitish mycelia and hyphae with clamp connections, and whitish to light brown sclerotia formed in the center (<0.7 mm diameter). Symptomatic tissue was plated on acid potato dextrose agar (APDA) amended with chloramphenicol (100 mg/L) and ampicillin (30mg/L), and incubated at 20 °C for one week. Data supporting the molecular identification of this putative pathogen were gathered by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing of the complete internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and a fragment of the large subunit (LSU) of the rRNA gene (~1.5 kb) using primers ITS1F and LR5 (FDACS-DPI PPST 2020-105211, GenBank OR492009) (White et al. 1990). The identification of the host was confirmed by Sanger sequencing of three plant barcode fragments: ITS2 (ITS2-S2F/ITS4, OR492008), ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit (rbcL) (rbcLa-F/rbcLa-R, GenBank OR502388), and Maturase K (matK) (matK-KIM1R/matK-KIM3F, GenBank OR502389) (Fazekas et al. 2012). MegaBLAST queries of the ITS/LSU sequence obtained here recovered a 99.61% match to the fungal pathogen Agroathelia (=Athelia) rolfsii (Sacc.) Redhead & Mullineux. (Redhead and Mullineux 2023) (Amylocorticiaceae, Agaricomycotina) strain GP3 (GenBank JABRWF010000005) (Yan et al. 2021). MegaBLAST queries of three host plant DNA barcodes recovered matches of greater than 99.62% similarity to N. nucifera sequences. After diagnosis, symptomatic dried leaf samples were deposited at Plant Industry Herbarium Gainesville (PIHG 17807) and an axenic culture was deposited at the Agricultural Research Services Culture Collection (NRRL 66964). Koch's postulates were fulfilled by the inoculation of sclerotia (as in Terrones-Salgado et al. 2022) on adaxial leaf surface of four-week- old water lily transplants obtained from an artificial pond on campus (two plants with five leaves each). One additional transplant was not inoculated and served as a control; this plant remained asymptomatic during the experimentation period. Each transplant was kept in a 27-gallon plastic container (21W × 30L × 14H in) filled with tap water containing one tablespoon of 20-20-20 all-purpose-water-soluble plant fertilizer (VPG, TX, USA) in a plant biosafety level 2 greenhouse (23 °C, >50% relative humidity, and a 12-h/12-h photoperiod). All inoculated leaves showed necrotized areas after one week and new sclerotia were observed floating on the water surface after three weeks. Fungal pathogen was reisolated and reidentified subsequently. Agroathelia rolfsii is the causal agent of southern blight, also known as grey rot, and is reported from at least in 260 plant genera, including specialty crops such as citrus, cucumber, pepper, peanuts, pumpkin, and strawberry (Farr and Rossman 2018). Agroathelia rolfsii usually causes lower stem, crown, and root rots; consequently, leaf spots are a noteworthy presentation of symptoms for this fungus.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Perceived Stress in South Korean Twins.

Researchers have proposed that culture significantly influences perceived stress (PS). To date, however, twin studies on PS have been conducted mostly in western, individualistic cultures, which demonstrate that PS due to controllable (personal) life events is more heritable than PS due to uncontrollable (network) life events. This study aimed to investigate genetic and environmental influences on PS in South Korean twins. South Korea practices a dominant collectivist culture. In total, 1372 twin individuals (mean age = 22.4 ± 2.5 years) completed an online survey on PS, which consisted of the scales, Friendship, Academic Stress, Future Career, Family Conflicts, and Family Financial Difficulties (FFD). Friendship, Academic Stress, and Future Career can be considered PS due to personal life events, and Family Conflict and FFD, PS due to network life events. The general sex-limitation model-fitting analysis revealed the absence of qualitative or quantitative sex differences in genetic and environmental influences. Specifically, additive genetic influences were predominant for Friendship (63%), Academic Stress (67%), and Future Career (57%) for both sexes, with the remaining variance attributable to nonshared environmental influences. In contrast, shared environmental influences were largest for Family Conflict (47% for both genders) and FFD (64% for males, 63% for females) with no significant genetic effects. Despite known cultural differences in the means and variances of PS, South Korean twins exhibited significant genetic effects in PS due to personal life events and large shared environmental effects in PS due to network life events, which is similar to western samples.

Luteibacter mycovicinus sp. nov., a yellow-pigmented gammaproteobacterium found as an endohyphal symbiont of endophytic Ascomycota.

We isolated and described a yellow-pigmented strain of bacteria (strain 9143T), originally characterized as an endohyphal inhabitant of an endophytic fungus in the Ascomycota. Although the full-length sequence of its 16S rRNA gene displays 99 % similarity to Luteibacter pinisoli, genomic hybridization demonstrated <30 % genomic similarity between 9143T and its closest named relatives, further supported by average nucleotide identity results. This and related endohyphal strains form a well-supported clade separate from L. pinisoli and other validly named species including the most closely related Luteibacter rhizovicinus. The name Luteibacter mycovicinus sp. nov. is proposed, with type strain 9143T (isolate DBL433), for which a genome has been sequenced and is publicly available from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC TSD-257T) and from the Leibniz Institute DSMZ (DSM 112764T). The type strain reliably forms yellow colonies across diverse media and growth conditions (lysogeny broth agar, King's Medium B, potato dextrose agar, trypticase soy agar and Reasoner's 2A (R2A) agar). It forms colonies readily at 27 °C on agar with a pH of 6-8, and on salt (NaCl) concentrations up to 2 %. It lacks the ability to utilize sulphate as a sulphur source and thus only forms colonies on minimal media if supplemented with alternative sulphur sources. It is catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Although it exhibits a single polar flagellum, motility was only clearly visible on R2A agar. Its host range and close relatives, which share the endohyphal lifestyle, are discussed.

Self-Concept Priming and Message Framing As Strategies for Improving Individuals’ Compliance: A Case Study of Bicultural Taxpayers’ Tip Reporting

ABSTRACT This study investigates the efficacy of two strategies, active self-concept priming and message framing, designed to encourage standard-compliant behavior. We prime 82 bicultural U.S. taxpayers from a collectivist culture through informational videos to activate either an individualist or collectivist self-concept. The message is framed to match (versus not match) the primed self-concept. Results reveal an ordinal interaction where participants primed with a collectivist self-concept have higher tax compliance than those primed with an individualist self-concept, and the highest compliance occurs when the message has a relational focus (i.e., collectivist prime match) compared to a self-focus (i.e., individualist prime match). Supplemental analysis suggests that raising the salience of the collectivist-self over the individualist-self indirectly affects taxpayers’ intentions to comply through the mediator of taxpayers’ attitudes. The findings highlight the potential of behavioral priming as a low-cost strategy for boosting tax revenues that fund services that benefit the public interest at large. Data Availability: Data are available from the authors upon request.

Loneliness and Culture: A Commentary

Loneliness is thean experience that is intertwined inwith being human, but since it is so painful and troubling, all of us try to avoid it. It has short- and long-term negative consequences, including its influence on our life satisfaction, health, and mortality. Various causal factors were explored regarding loneliness, which is essentially a subjective experience. This commentary aims to highlight the contribution of culture, be it collectivistic or individualistic, to the development of loneliness. Since loneliness is correlated with the expectation of being with others and part of a community, research found that people in collectivistic cultures are lonelier than those in individualistic ones. Ethnicity also contributes to the development, and was thus reviewed. While it beingis an essential part of being human, loneliness can, indeed, be attenuated and its pain lessened, and culture may predict ways of doing so.

The age of leadership: Meta‐analytic findings on the relationship between leader age and perceived leadership style and the moderating role of culture and industry type

AbstractManagers' leadership style has a substantial impact on employee and organizational outcomes. In the present study, we consider the role of leaders’ chronological age in predicting followers’ perceptions of their leadership style. Whereas ample research uncovers relationships between individuals’ age and how these individuals are perceived by others, little is known about how leaders’ chronological age impacts others’ perceptions of their style. Even less is known about how such relationships vary across cultures and industries. We conducted a meta‐analysis (164 unique studies; N = 397,456 observations) to explore these relationships, using the Full‐Range leadership model. We found that leader age was negatively related to perceptions of transformational and transactional leadership, and positively related to perceptions of passive leadership. Further, some of these effects varied on several cultural dimensions: The negative relationship between leader age and transformational leadership was weaker in collectivistic cultures, while the negative relationship with transactional leadership was stronger in high power distance cultures. Industry type also mattered: the relationship between leader age and both transformational and contingent reward leadership styles was amplified in the public sector. Lastly, perceptions of older leaders were more negative when ratings were provided by followers rather than the leaders themselves. Our findings offer both theoretical and practical implications for leading in an increasingly age‐diverse workforce, such as better informing the workforce of present age stereotypes and their imminent effect on organizations.

A machine learning model for the early diagnosis of bloodstream infection in patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit.

Bloodstream infection (BSI) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and high healthcare costs. Early detection and appropriate treatment of BSI may improve patient's outcome. Data on machine-learning models to predict BSI in pediatric patients are limited and neither study included time series data. We aimed to develop a machine learning model to predict an early diagnosis of BSI in patients admitted to the PICU. This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who had at least one positive blood culture result during stay at a PICU of a tertiary-care university hospital, from January 1st to December 31st 2019. Patients with positive blood culture results with growth of contaminants and those with incomplete data were excluded. Models were developed using demographic, clinical and laboratory data collected from the electronic medical record. Laboratory data (complete blood cell counts with differential and C-reactive protein) and vital signs (heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, temperature, oxygen saturation) were obtained 72 hours before and on the day of blood culture collection. A total of 8816 data from 76 patients were processed by the models. The machine committee was the best-performing model, showing accuracy of 99.33%, precision of 98.89%, sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 98.46%. Hence, we developed a model using demographic, clinical and laboratory data collected on a routine basis that was able to detect BSI with excellent accuracy and precision, and high sensitivity and specificity. The inclusion of vital signs and laboratory data variation over time allowed the model to identify temporal changes that could be suggestive of the diagnosis of BSI. Our model might help the medical team in clinical-decision making by creating an alert in the electronic medical record, which may allow early antimicrobial initiation and better outcomes.

First Report of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum causing leaf zonate spot disease of Aloe vera L. in China.

In February 2022, leaf zonate spot disease afflicted Aloe vera L. in Yunnan, China, endangering the $39 billion industry with 0.33ha under cultivation (Wan 2015). The disease manifested with watery spots progressing into oval or circular necrosis lesions, characterized by a dark center surrounded by a gray-brown zone. In the late stage of the disease, lesions regress in size and several small dark picnidia dots appeared on the gray-brown zone. The disease incidence ranged from 10% to 15% in three commercial plantations. If left uncontrolled, the disease could diminish the commercial value of Aloe vera plants. Eighteen symptomatic leaf samples underwent morphological and genetic identification. The samples were carefully washed with distilled water and 1×1 cm2 sections of tissue were excised using a sterile scalpel. The sections underwent surface-disinfection with 3% NaOCl for 3 min and 75% ethanol for 30 s. After three sterile water rinses the sections were air-dried. Subsequently, they were transferred to potato dextrose agar (PDA) before being incubated at 25 ℃ in the dark. Of the 18 samples, eight produced the colonies with similar morphological characteristics, named LH7. Isolate LH7 had downy to woolly aerial mycelia, initially pinkish white on the surface, and gradually turned greenish-olivaceous from the middle, and eventually turned dark brown to black after seven days. The fungus formed arthric chains in the aerial mycelium on PDA but did not produce conidiomata. The conidia, which occurred in arthric chains were 5.50-9.9 × 4.08-7.51 μm (mean 7.09× 5.26 μm, n=50) in size, cylindrical, brown, and 0-1 septate. To ascertain LH7's pathogenicity, three healthy one-year old aloe plants were surface-sanitized with a 1% aqueous chlorine solution, rinsed with sterile water, and dried. Three leaves from each plant were punctuated and inoculated using conidial suspension (100 μl of 1x 106 conidial mL-1), while three control plants were inoculated with sterile distilled water. The pathogenicity tests were repeated twice. The inoculated plants were kept at 25 ℃ with a 12-hour light/12-hour dark cycle. After seven days, symptoms observed in the field appeared in the plants, while no disease occurred in the control plants. After 21 days, conidiomata formed on the inoculated leaves, averaging 116.92 μm (n=20) in diameter. These conidiomata were globose to subglobose, and brown to sub-brown. The fungus was successfully re-isolated from symptomatic tissue and the resulting colonies were morphologically consistent with isolate LH7. Based on the characteristics, the fungus was identified as Neoscytalidium dimidiatum (Philips et al. 2013). The specimen was deposited in China Center for Type Culture Collection ( CCTCC AF 2024001). This identification was confirmed through sequencing of ITS gene region of rDNA using ITS1/ITS4 (Imran et al. 2022). The sequence was submitted into GenBank database (ON878059). BLAST analysis of the LH7's ITS amplicon showed 100% similarity with that of JN093303.1. A phylogenetic tree constructed using the maximum likelihood method revealed that ON878059 was clustered with JN093303.1. Previous studies have documented that pathogens such as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.), Fusarium spp. and Rhizopus oryzae can also cause diseases in A. vera in China (Zhou et al. 2008; Ding et al. 2015). Additinonally, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Pseudopestalotiopsis theae, and Lasiodiplodia theobromae have been identified as causal agents of aloe leaf spot diseases in India, Bangladesh and Malaysia (Avasthi et al. 2016; Ahmmed et al. 2022; Khoo et al. 2022). To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. dimidiatum causing leaf necrosis of aloe in China. Vigilant surveillance and disease control measures are imperative to mitigate potential losses in this region.

Mortality impact of further delays in active targeted antibiotic therapy in bacteraemic patients that did not receive initial active empiric treatment: Results from the prospective, multicentre cohort PROBAC

ObjectivesThe early initiation of the empirical antibiotic treatment and its impact on mortality in patients with bacteraemia has been extensively studied. However, information on the impact of precocity of the targeted antibiotic treatment is scarce. We aimed to study the impact of further delay in active antibiotic therapy on 30-day mortality among patients with bloodstream infection who had not received appropriate empirical therapy. DesignWe worked with PROBAC cohort (prospective and compound by patients from 26 different Spanish hospitals). We selected a total of 1703 patients, who survived to day 2 without having received any active antibiotic therapy against the causative pathogen. ResultsThe 30-day mortality was 14% (238 patients). The adjusted odds of mortality increased for every day of delay, from 1.53 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.13-2.08) for day 3 or after to 11.38 (95% CI 7.95-16.38) for day 6 or after. ConclusionWe concluded that among patients who had not received active treatment within the first 2 days of blood culture collection, additional delays in active targeted therapy were associated with increased mortality. These results emphasize the importance of active interventions in the management of patients with bloodstream infections.

Treasures of Italian Microbial Culture Collections: An Overview of Preserved Biological Resources, Offered Services and Know-How, and Management

Microorganisms, microbiomes, and their products (e.g., enzymes, metabolites, antibiotics, etc.) are key players in the functioning of both natural and anthropized Earth ecosystems; they can be exploited for both research purposes and biotechnological applications, including fighting the big challenges of our era, such as climate change. Culture collections (CCs) and microbial Biological Resource Centres (mBRCs) are repositories of microorganisms that investigate and safeguard biodiversity and facilitate the scientific and industrial communities’ access to microbial strains and related know-how by providing external users with skills and services. Considering this, CCs and mBRCs are pivotal institutions for the valorisation of microorganisms, the safeguarding of life, and the fostering of excellent bioscience. The aim of this review is to present the state-of-the-art of Italian CCs and mBRCs, highlighting strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities. Italy is, indeed, a hotspot of microbial biodiversity with a high rate of endemism and incredible potential, not only for the food and beverage sector (i.e., “Made in Italy” products), where microorganisms can have a beneficial or a spoiling function, but also to guarantee environmental sustainability and foster the bioeconomy through the design of new bioprocesses and products. However, weaknesses, such as the lack of management rules in accordance with international quality standards, are also analysed and ways of overcoming them are discussed. In this context, an overview is given of the Joint Research Unit MIRRI-IT and the European-funded SUS-MIRRI.IT project, which aims to improve the management and sustainability of Italian microbial collections, and serves as a starting point for an innovative revolution in the context of CCs and mBRCs worldwide.

Investigation of Cultural Identity of Students Who Study Japanese Language at British Universities Between 2012-2023

In Japanese language classrooms, students have become more globalised in terms of the students’ educational and life experience background. Teaching pedagogies which have been used before globalisation may not be appropriate and effective to students after globalisation. The aim of this study is to investigate any cultural identity characteristics of students who studied Japanese at two British universities in the South of England between 2012 and 2023. The significance of this study is to investigate how students’ individualist or collectivist cultural background may affect students’ cultural identity. Participants were a total of 22 students who studied Japanese language through an Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP). The majority of these students have studied Japanese for a minimum of one year up to three years. The data was collected between 2012/13 and 2022/23 academic year from two British universities. The research design to investigate students’ cultural identity characteristics was a mixed method, using variables such as hometown, languages they speak, their values and their first name. Students’ nationality, where they were born and where they were educated were also taken into consideration to analyse the data. The key finding of students’ characteristic was that students’ identification was closely related to their sense of belonging in the results of students’ hometown, languages they speak, their values and their first name, which is in line with other previous research results in the literature. Other findings included that some of the students found it difficult to determine their hometown, that the majority of students were multilingual who have experience in several language learning, that students’ values were often influenced by their parents’ individualist or collectivist cultural values, and that students’ first names often showed the students’ identification and sense of belonging. Taking into consideration of individualist or collectivist culture, recommendations discuss on how the language teaching practitioners may be able to support the sense of belonging of the current students who have diverse educational and life background.

Timing and prediction of secondary bacteremia in patients with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study.

We aimed to aid the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents by determining the timing of secondary bacteremia and validating and updating clinical prediction models for bacteremia in patients with COVID-19. We performed a retrospective cohort study on all hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who underwent blood culture tests from January 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021, at an urban teaching hospital in Japan. The primary outcome measure was secondary bacteremia in patients with COVID-19. Of the 507 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 169 underwent blood culture tests. Eleven of them had secondary bacteremia. The majority of secondary bacteremia occurred on or later than the 9th day after symptom onset. Positive blood culture samples collected on day 9 or later after disease onset had an odds ratio of 22.4 (95% CI 2.76-181.2, p < 0.001) compared with those collected less than 9 days after onset. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the modified Shapiro rule combined with blood culture collection on or after the 9th day from onset was 0.919 (95% CI, 0.843-0.995), and the net benefit was high according to the decision curve analysis. The timings of symptom onset and hospital admission may be valuable indicators for making a clinical decision to perform blood cultures in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.