Recent Occurrence Research Articles

The Fungal Microbiota of the Digestive Tract of the Chagas Disease Vectors Triatoma infestans Klug, 1834 and Panstrongylus megistus Burmeister, 1835

Chagas is a neglected disease, one of Brazil’s main medical and social problems and a serious public health problem in the Americas, with more recent occurrences in non-endemic countries outside of the Americas. Research into the microbiota of triatomines is relevant because of its potential role in vector competence and as a proposed biological control strategy. Stressing a possible insect-fungal interaction in the development of Trypanosoma cruzi, and considering the lack of studies on the subject, we analyzed the fungal microbiota of the digestive tract of two species considered important vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi: Triatoma infestans and Panstrongylus megistus. Specimens were dissected, digestive tracts macerated and contents serially diluted. Each aliquot was seeded in three culture media. The plates were incubated in type B.O.D. climate chambers for 21 days, after which isolated colonies were morphological characterized and identified. There have been few published studies on the fungal microbiota of the triatomine digestive tract. Comparing the results found here with existing data reveals that the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium are commonly found in the digestive tract of the studied triatomines. Among the several genera identified, the species found in the highest percentages were Aspergillus flavus, Paecilomyces variotii, Penicillium waksmanii, Penicillium raistrickii and Penicillium fellutanum. Quantitative differences in the number of isolated fungal strains were observed according to sex and nymphal stage of the vector. The present findings corroborate those found in the literature, showing that there is a natural fungal microbiota in triatomines. Data revealing quantitative differences in isolated fungal strains found in male, female and nymphs reinforce the idea that their presence is related to physiology and fasting resistance. The secondary metabolite-producing fungi isolated in this work have in their biology great potential to be tested with regard to the establishment of T. cruzi in the digestive tract of its vector.

Macrofracturing of Oceanic Lithosphere in Complex Large Earthquake Sequences

AbstractMajor earthquakes in oceanic lithosphere seaward of the subduction zone outer trench slope are relatively uncommon, but several recent occurrences have involved very complex sequences rupturing multiple nonaligned faults and/or having high aftershock productivity with diffuse distribution. This includes the 21 December 2010 MW 7.4 Ogasawara (Bonin), 11 April 2012 MW 8.6 Indo‐Australia, 23 January 2018 MW 7.9 Off‐Kodiak Island, and 20 December 2018 MW 7.3 Nikol'skoye (northwest Pacific) earthquakes. Major oceanic intraplate event sequences farther from plate boundaries do not tend to be as complex in faulting or aftershocks. Outer trench slope extensional faulting can involve complex distributed sequences, particularly when activated by great megathrust ruptures such as 11 March 2011 MW 9.1 Tohoku and 15 November 2006 MW 8.3 Kuril Islands. Intense faulting sequences also occur near subduction zone corners, with many fault geometries being activated, including some in nearby oceanic lithosphere, as for the 29 September 2009 MW 8.1 Samoa, 6 February 2013 MW 8.0 Santa Cruz Islands, and 16 November 2000 MW 8.0 New Ireland earthquakes. The laterally varying plate boundary stresses from heterogeneous locking, recent earthquakes, or boundary geometry influence the specific faulting geometries activated in nearby major intraplate ruptures in oceanic lithosphere. Preexisting lithospheric structures and fabrics exert secondary influences on the faulting. Intraplate stress release in oceanic lithosphere near subduction zones favors distributed macrofracturing of near‐critical fault systems rather than localized, single‐fault failures, both under transient loading induced by plate boundary ruptures and under slow loading by tectonic motions and slab pull.

Castanospermine reduces Zika virus infection-associated seizure by inhibiting both the viral load and inflammation in mouse models

Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks have been reported worldwide, including a recent occurrence in Brazil where it spread rapidly, and an association with increased cases of microcephaly was observed in addition to neurological issues such as GBS that were reported during previous outbreaks. Following infection of neuronal tissues, ZIKV can cause inflammation, which may lead to neuronal abnormalities, including seizures and paralysis. Therefore, a drug containing both anti-viral and immunosuppressive properties would be of great importance in combating ZIKV related neurological abnormalities. Castanospermine (CST) is potentially a right candidate drug as it reduced viral load and brain inflammation with the resulting appearance of delayed neuronal disorders, including seizures and paralysis in an Ifnar1−/− mouse.

Recent and historic occurrences of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) at Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Eastern Polynesia

Recent and historic occurrences of leopard seals (Hydrurga leptonyx) at Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Eastern Polynesia

Task shifting and health professionals: a European policy analysis

Abstract Issue There is now a growing interest by public health and health policy leader worldwide in task shifting within health professionals. Nurses represent the largest health workforce. Research has displayed that higher level of nursing competencies leads to better outcomes for patients and for the organization. Advanced and specialistic nursing and prescribing nurses is common in anglophone countries but is still in development in other countries and do not have a stable legislative recognition. Methodology We carry out a review of policy documents, models, and frameworks at European level to identify best practices to implement within the Italian context, with particular attention to nursing task shifting in order to set up Advanced Practice Nursing. Following the EU taxonomy, the analysis was carried out in order to classify the different approaches under the three main areas: enhancement, substitution/delegation and innovation. Results There are a number of reports and policy documents suggesting that task shifting is a way to improve health management, however to a mixed extent. Results show that task shifting has a domino effect. It impacts on the whole organization in terms of social and financial sustainability, quality of care, and general strength of the health systems. According to the results, Task shifting could potentially play a big role in the crucial transformation of health systems worldwide, however, it is still strongly influenced by a medically centered approach. Conclusions In the light of the results, there is an overall lack of clarity and well-developed policy approach by policymakers about task shifting competencies. Recent occurrences in terms of overwhelmed hospitals and health systems in general has clearly displayed the need to a major transformation and update of traditional models and regulatory frameworks of delivery of care and cure. Key messages Task shifting for health professionals is the future. task shifting is crucial in emergency and primary care.

Abstract A09: Predicting recurrence or second breast cancer using linked claims and cancer registry data with limited gold-standard information: A gradient-boosting approach

Abstract Background: Cancer recurrence is a major event affecting the burden of the disease and is a critical decision point for patients and their providers. Population-based information on the risk of cancer recurrence is lacking because it is not routinely collected by cancer registries. Objective: To develop and implement a scalable, supervised learning algorithm to predict breast cancer recurrence status using information about disease at diagnosis from registry data and information about health care utilization from medical claims. Data: Medical claims from private insurers and Medicare (2011-2016) linked with the Puget Sound SEER Cancer Registry were made available via the Hutch Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research (HICOR). Gold-standard information on the recurrence of initially localized breast cancer was provided by investigators on the BRAVO study of breast cancer survivors diagnosed 2004-2016 in the Puget Sound area. The HICOR and BRAVO data were linked. The analysis dataset consisted of 111 patients with a recurrence or second breast cancer event and 689 patients without a recurrence or second breast cancer event who had adequate claims (insurance enrollment before and after their second event or for at least 12 consecutive months after primary treatment) available for analysis. Methods: A gradient-boosting algorithm (XGBoost) was harnessed to predict month-level recurrence status, i.e., whether any given month was before or after a recurrence event. Features included registry information on patient demographics, initial extent of disease, and hormone-receptor, and engineered features based on the counts of diagnosis, procedure and drug claims within groups determined by a blend of previously defined groups and groups customized for this application. Time-varying features included monthly counts of codes within each group, months since the most recent and subsequent occurrence of each code group, and cumulative sums of each code group. Subjects were split into a training (n=94) and test (n=17) set for reporting performance results. The training data were further split 5:1 for cross-validation purposes. Results: The list of most important variables included time since coding of secondary malignancy, cumulative sum of codes related to pathology, and codes related to catheter placement. The month-specific AUC on a validation subset (n=17 patients) was 0.89; individual-level (sensitivity, specificity) ranged from (0.824, 0.946) to (0.706,0.982). Conclusions: Data sources that link claims, cancer registry, and gold-standard disease status information are critical for the development of novel, automated approaches for detecting cancer recurrence. Gradient-boosted learning with engineered time-varying features shows promise for identifying recurrence events in administrative claims. Proper coding of procedure and drug groups is likely to be key to the performance of such algorithms. Incompleteness of claims data is a major challenge. Citation Format: Teresa A'mar, Daniel Markowitz, Jessica Chubak, David Beatty, Catherine Fedorenko, Christopher Li, Kathi Malone, Ruth Etzioni. Predicting recurrence or second breast cancer using linked claims and cancer registry data with limited gold-standard information: A gradient-boosting approach [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Modernizing Population Sciences in the Digital Age; 2019 Feb 19-22; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(9 Suppl):Abstract nr A09.

Differences between the 2018 and 2019 stratospheric polar vortex split events

Two recent occurrences in February 2018 and January 2019 of a dynamic split in the Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex are compared in terms of their evolution and predictability. The 2018 split vortex was associated with primarily wavenumber‐2 wave forcing that was not well predicted more than 7–10 days ahead of time, and was followed by persistent coupling to the surface with strong weather impacts. In 2019 the vortex was first displaced by slow wavenumber‐1 amplification into the stratosphere, which was predictable at longer lead times and then split; the surface impacts following the event were weaker. Here we examine the role of large‐scale climate influences, such as the phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, the Quasi‐biennial Oscillation and the Madden–Julian Oscillation, on the wave forcing, surface impacts and predictability of these two events. Linkages between the forecast error in the stratospheric polar vortex winds with the forecast error in the Quasi‐biennial Oscillation and Madden–Julian Oscillation are examined.

VIZAG GAS LEAK- A CASE STUDY ON THE UNCONTROLLED STYRENE VAPOUR RELEASE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN INDIA

Industrial emergencies involving hazardous chemicals are not uncommon in India. During the last several decades there has been a growing awareness of the expanding risks and consequences of major industrial disasters. Industrial hazards can occur at any stage in the production process, including extraction, processing, manufacture, transportation, storage, use, and disposal. Losses generally involve the release of damaging substances (e.g. chemicals, radioacvity) or damaging levels of energy from industrial facilities or equipment into surrounding environments. This usually occurs in the form of explosions, fires, spills, leaks, or wastes. In a recent occurrence on the wee hours of 7th May 2020, an accident of uncontrolled release of Styrene vapor occurred at LG Polymers India Pvt. Ltd. (LG Polymers) in RR Venkatapuram Village, Visakhapatnam from one of the Styrene storage tanks. The hazardous Styrene vapors spread beyond the factory premises, affecting the populace of five villages / habitations. The officials from the District administration along with Police Department, GVMC, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local people rushed to the spot for rescue operations. However, the grave accident led to 12 citizens losing their lives and 585 citizens being hospitalized. In this regard let’s take a brief look into the causes of the accident which led to this grave mishap. KEYWORDS: Vizag gas leak, styrene vapour, MSIHC 1989, Pre-Startup Safety Review (PSSR), Hazardous Material Information System (HMIS), Process safety management.

A Novel Model for Aligning Knowledge Management Activities within the Process of Developing Quality Software

Background: Currently, the organization's competitive advantage is based on critical decisions to achieve their objectives by understanding the power of knowledge as a source within the organizations. However, there is a lack of qualitative models/frameworks for integrating Knowledge Life Cycle (KLC) within software development life cycle SDLC. Therefore, the goal of this research is to involve Knowledge Management activities within the SDLC in Information Technology companies to produce quality software. With the help of knowledge movements within the companies, the quality of provided software is used to improve organizations performance and products better and faster. Methods: This research highlights the importance of Knowledge Management activities during a typical software development process to provide the software as a final product/target. Moreover, the paper proposes a model to explain the relationships between knowledge management activities within the process of software development life cycle to produce quality software using three basic building blocks: people, organizations, and technologies. The success factors for the blocks are selected depending on the most recent literature occurrences and on their fitness to the nature of this study. Results: The research proposes a novel model for the success factors to evaluate the effects of the building blocks, and workflows during the software development processes. The selected success factors for the blocks are (Training, Leadership, Teamwork, Trust, IT Infrastructure, Culture, and strategies). Also, the research demonstrates the relationships between KM success factors and SDLC to produce quality software. Conclusion: In this research, we proposed a novel model to explain the relationships between knowledge management activities within the process of software development life cycle to produce quality software using three basic building blocks: people, organizations, and technologies. We selected seven success factors for the blocks depending on: 1) their importance and occurrence in a number of literature by many authors; and 2) their fitness to the nature of this study. The success factors (Training, Leadership, Teamwork, Trust, IT Infrastructure, Culture, and strategies) of the proposed model can be used to evaluate the effects of people, organizations, technologies, and workflows during the software development processes to obtain the required software quality. Finally, a quantitative study will be implemented to investigate the proposed hypothesis and to measure factors influencing the suggested model. By assessing to which degree these factors are present/ absent within the SDLC process the managers will be able to address the weakness by preparing a suitable plan and produce quality software.

What factors are associated with maternal undernutrition in eastern zone of Tigray, Ethiopia? Evidence for nutritional well-being of lactating mothers

BackgroundMaternal undernutrition is a pervasive health problem among Ethiopian mothers. This study aims at identifying the level of maternal undernutrition and its associated factors in Kilte Awaleo-Health and Demographic Surveillance Site (KA-HDSS), Tigray region, Ethiopia.MethodsNutritional status of 2260 lactating mothers was evaluated using the mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC). Data from the vital events and verbal autopsy databases were linked to the survey and baseline recensus data to investigate the association of adult mortality from chronic causes of death (CoD) on maternal undernutrition. We employed a generalized log-binomial model to estimate the independent effects of the fitted covariates.ResultsThe overall prevalence of maternal undernutrition based on MUAC < 23 cm was 38% (95% CI: 36.1, 40.1%). Recent occurrence of household morbidity (adjusted prevalence ratio (adjPR) = 1.49; 95%CI: 1.22, 1.81) was associated with increased risk of maternal undernutrition. In addition, there was a 28% higher risk (adjPR = 1.28; 95%CI: 0.98, 1.67) of maternal undernutrition for those mothers who lived in households with history of adult mortality from chronic diseases. Especially, its association with severe maternal undernutrition was strong (adjusted OR = 3.27; 95%CI: 1.48, 7.22). In contrast, good maternal health-seeking practice (adjPR = 0.86; 95%CI: 0.77, 0.96) and production of diverse food crops (adjPR = 0.72; 95%CI: 0.64, 0.81) were associated with a lower risk of maternal undernutrition. Relative to mothers with low scores of housing and environmental factors index (HAEFI), those with medium and higher scores of HAEFI had 0.81 (adjPR = 0.81; 95%CI: 0.69, 0.95) and 0.82 (adjPR = 0.82; 95%CI: 0.72, 0.95) times lower risk of maternal undernutrition, respectively.ConclusionsEfforts to ameliorate maternal undernutrition need to consider the influence of the rising epidemiology of adult mortality from chronic diseases. Our data clearly indicate the need for channeling the integrated intervention power of nutrition-sensitive development programs with that of nutrition-specific sectoral services.

Trait impulsivity correlates with active myoclonic seizures in genetic generalized epilepsy

BackgroundJuvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is a common subtype of genetic generalized epilepsy (GGE) arising in adolescence and is often associated with executive function (EF) deficits. Some EF components like response inhibition have been extensively evaluated in JME, but few studies have focused upon trait impulsivity or compared between GGE subtypes. The aim of the present study was to compare the association of trait impulsivity in JME with other GGE subtypes. MethodsPatients with GGE aged between 14 and 40 years (n = 137) were divided into those with JME (n = 92) and those with other GGEs (n = 45: 8 childhood absence epilepsy (CAE), 22 juvenile absence epilepsy (JAE), and 15 epilepsy with generalized tonic–clonic seizures only (EGTCS)). The study participants were recruited through medical records of the general population of Buskerud County and the neighboring municipalities, covering 477,000 people or 9.1% of Norway's total population. All participants underwent a clinical interview including the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS), an established measure of trait impulsivity. We controlled for other potential predictors of BIS score using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). ResultsThere were no differences between JME and other types of GGE for BIS scores, but the presence of myoclonic seizures within the last year, irrespective of GGE subtype, was independently associated with significantly increased behavioral impulsivity. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that trait impulsivity in GGE is most strongly related to the recent occurrence of myoclonic seizures rather than GGE subtype.

High-Throughput Sequencing Facilitates Discovery of New Plant Viruses in Poland.

Viruses cause epidemics on all major crops of agronomic importance, and a timely and accurate identification is essential for control. High throughput sequencing (HTS) is a technology that allows the identification of all viruses without prior knowledge on the targeted pathogens. In this paper, we used HTS technique for the detection and identification of different viral species occurring in single and mixed infections in plants in Poland. We analysed various host plants representing different families. Within the 20 tested samples, we identified a total of 13 different virus species, including those whose presence has not been reported in Poland before: clover yellow mosaic virus (ClYMV) and melandrium yellow fleck virus (MYFV). Due to this new finding, the obtained sequences were compared with others retrieved from GenBank. In addition, cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV) was also detected, and due to the recent occurrence of this virus in Poland, a phylogenetic analysis of these new isolates was performed. The analysis revealed that CABYV population is highly diverse and the Polish isolates of CABYV belong to two different phylogenetic groups. Our results showed that HTS-based technology is a valuable diagnostic tool for the identification of different virus species originating from variable hosts, and can provide rapid information about the spectrum of plant viruses previously not detected in a region.

Buxbaumia viridis (Moug. ex Lam. &amp; DC.) Brid. ex Moug. &amp; Nestl. in Hungary Predominantly Terricolous and Found in Managed Forests

Field studies in Hungary during the last six years have led to the discovery of 82 localities and 2145 sporophytes of Buxbaumia viridis (Moug. ex Lam. & DC.) Brid. ex Moug. & Nestl., i.e. 41 times more localities and 143 times more sporophytes than reported in the previous census carried out up to 2014. The recent occurrences of the species known at that time (two localities with four stands and 15 sporophytes) were found exclusively on decaying wood in old growth forests. However, in the light of 20th century herbarium data from Hungary and new observations in Central Europe, our survey was extended to include the soil of acidophytic, young and middle-aged, managed and disturbed forests, and the new populations were mainly found in these types of habitats, almost exclusively on acidic soil. Details of population size, habitat and substrate preference, and environmental conditions at the newly found stands are reported in this paper. If these unusual preferences (i.e. acidic soil in managed, acidophytic beech forests) are not confined to Hungary, the total population size of this Natura 2000 species listed in annex II of the Habitat Directive might be severely underestimated in Europe.

Localizing Ground-Motion Models in Volcanic Terranes: Shallow Events at Mt. Etna, Italy, Revisited

ABSTRACTWe present a set of revised ground-motion models (GMMs) for shallow events at Mt. Etna Volcano. The recent occurrence of damaging events, in particular two of the strongest earthquakes ever instrumentally recorded in the area, has required revising previous GMMs, as these failed to match the observations made for events with local magnitude ML&amp;gt;4.3, above all for sites situated close to the epicenter. The dataset now includes 49 seismic events, with a total of 1600 time histories recorded at distances of up to 100 km, and ML ranging from 3.0 to 4.8. The model gives estimates of peak ground acceleration (both horizontal and vertical), peak ground velocity (both horizontal and vertical), and 5% damped horizontal pseudoacceleration response spectral ordinates up to a period of 4 s. GMMs were developed using the functional form proposed by Boore and Atkinson (2008). Furthermore, with a slightly modified approach, we also considered a regression model using a pseudodepth (h) depending on magnitude according to the scaling law by Azzaro et al. (2017). Both models were applied to hypocentral distance ranges of up to 60 km and up to 100 km, respectively. From the statistical analysis, we found that reducing the maximum distance from the event up to 60 km and introducing a magnitude-dependent pseudodepth improved the model in terms of total error. We compared our results with those derived using the GMMs for shallow events at Mt. Etna found by Tusa and Langer (2016) and for volcanic areas by Lanzano and Luzi (2019). The main differences are observed at short epicentral distances and for higher magnitude events. The use of variable pseudodepth avoids sharp peaks of predicted ground-motion parameters around the epicenter, preventing instabilities when using a GMM in probabilistic seismic hazard analysis.

Establishing a baseline for tick surveillance in Alaska: Tick collection records from 1909-2019

The expanding geographic ranges of tick species that are known pathogen vectors can have implications for human, domestic animal, and wildlife health. Although Alaska is home to several hard tick species, it has historically been outside of the range of the most common medically important ticks in the contiguous United States and western Canada. To assess the status of tick species establishment in the state and to provide a baseline for tracking future change in the distribution of ticks, we reviewed and compiled historical tick records and summarized recent tick occurrence records collected through the development of the Alaska Submit-A-Tick Program and through tick drag sampling at sentinel sites in southcentral Alaska. Between 1909–2019, there were 1190 tick records representing 4588 individual ticks across 15 species in Alaska. The majority of ticks were species historically found in Alaska: Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, Ixodes angustus, Ixodes auritulus, Ixodes howelli, Ixodes signatus, and Ixodes uriae. Over half of all tick records in the state were collected in the last 10 yr. During this time, the number of tick records and the number of tick species recorded in Alaska each year has increased substantially. Between 2010–2019, there were 611 tick records representing 1921 individual ticks. The most common hosts for reported ticks were domestic animals (n = 343, 56 %) followed by small wild mammals (n = 147, 24 %), humans (n = 49, 8%), and wild birds (n = 31, 5%). Less than 5% of records (n = 25) were of unattached ticks found in the environment. Since 2007, non-native tick species have been documented in the state every year, including Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor andersoni, Dermacentor occidentalis, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes pacificus, Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes scapularis, Ixodes texanus, and Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (s.l.). Almost half of the records (n = 68, 48 %) of non-native tick species from 2010 to 2019 represented ticks found on a host (usually a dog or a human) that had traveled outside of Alaska in the two weeks prior to collection. However, A. americanum, D. variabilis, I. pacificus, I. texanus, and R. sanguineus s.l. have been found on humans and domestic animals in Alaska without reported recent travel. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that there is local establishment of R. sanguineus s.l. in Alaska. A tick species historically found in the state, I. angustus was frequently found on human and dogs, suggesting a potential role as a bridge vector of pathogens. Given the inconsistency of tick monitoring in Alaska over the past century, it is difficult to draw many conclusions from temporal trends in the data. Continued monitoring through the Alaska Submit-A-Tick Program will allow a more accurate assessment of the changing risk of ticks and tick-borne diseases in the state and provide information for setting clinical and public health guidelines for tick-borne disease prevention.

Fumonisin and Beauvericin Chemotypes and Genotypes of the Sister Species Fusarium subglutinans and Fusarium temperatum.

Fusarium subglutinans and Fusarium temperatum are common maize pathogens that produce mycotoxins and cause plant disease. The ability of these species to produce beauvericin and fumonisin mycotoxins is not settled, as reports of toxin production are not concordant. Our objective was to clarify this situation by determining both the chemotypes and genotypes for strains from both species. We analyzed 25 strains from Argentina, 13 F. subglutinans and 12 F. temperatum strains, for toxin production by ultraperformance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). We used new genome sequences from two strains of F. subglutinans and one strain of F. temperatum, plus genomes of other Fusarium species, to determine the presence of functional gene clusters for the synthesis of these toxins. None of the strains examined from either species produced fumonisins. These strains also lack Fum biosynthetic genes but retain homologs of some genes that flank the Fum cluster in Fusarium verticillioides None of the F. subglutinans strains we examined produced beauvericin although 9 of 12 F. temperatum strains did. A complete beauvericin (Bea) gene cluster was present in all three new genome sequences. The Bea1 gene was presumably functional in F. temperatum but was not functional in F. subglutinans due to a large insertion and multiple mutations that resulted in premature stop codons. The accumulation of only a few mutations expected to disrupt Bea1 suggests that the process of its inactivation is relatively recent. Thus, none of the strains of F. subglutinans or F. temperatum we examined produce fumonisins, and the strains of F. subglutinans examined also cannot produce beauvericin. Variation in the ability of strains of F. temperatum to produce beauvericin requires further study and could reflect the recent shared ancestry of these two species.IMPORTANCEFusarium subglutinans and F. temperatum are sister species and maize pathogens commonly isolated worldwide that can produce several mycotoxins and cause seedling disease, stalk rot, and ear rot. The ability of these species to produce beauvericin and fumonisin mycotoxins is not settled, as reports of toxin production are not concordant at the species level. Our results are consistent with previous reports that strains of F. subglutinans produce neither fumonisins nor beauvericin. The status of toxin production by F. temperatum needs further work. Our strains of F. temperatum did not produce fumonisins, while some strains produced beauvericin and others did not. These results enable more accurate risk assessments of potential mycotoxin contamination if strains of these species are present. The nature of the genetic inactivation of BEA1 is consistent with its relatively recent occurrence and the close phylogenetic relationship of the two sister species.

The Novel Coronavirus 2019 Epidemic and the Kidneys

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 is a recent disease that originated in China by the end of 2019. The origins of the dis-ease can be traced to bats, but it has been transmitted to humans, and the inter-human transmission is particularly rampant which has led to a pandemic of unseen proportions. The organ principally involved is the lungs, and severe pneumonia with lack of oxygen leads to fatalities. The aim of this review was to study the involvement of the kidneys with regard to COVID-19 infection and how the disease may affect people on hemodialysis or those who have undergone a kidney transplant. Indeed, the virus, in addition to the lungs, may affect other vascularized organs to a common receptor on lung epithelium and the endothelium of any organ. The kidney, which has a large endothelium surface, is affected, and COVID-19 may lead to acute renal failure. On the other hand, the virus may easily spread among people who are on hemodialysis three times a week. People on hemodialysis may have low immunity, and the virus may have dangerous effects on such people. Finally, renal transplant patients may be easily affected, and the virus may have severe consequences, even death. We will summarize the principal prophylactic measures to be adopted and the therapeutic measures available. Clearly due to the recent occurrence of the pandemic the majority these measures lack a basis in evidence-based medicine and only highlight the efforts to limit COVID-19 induced damage.

The Novel Coronavirus 2019 Epidemic and the Kidneys

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 is a recent disease that originated in China by the end of 2019. The origins of the disease can be traced to bats, but it has been transmitted to humans, and the inter human transmission is particularly rampant which has led to a pandemic of unseen proportions.&#x0D; The organ principally involved is the lungs, and severe pneumonia with lack of oxygen leads to fatalities.&#x0D; &#x0D; The aim of this review was to study the involvement of the kidneys with regard to COVID-19 infection and how the disease may affect people on hemodialysis or those who have undergone a kidney transplant.&#x0D; &#x0D; Indeed, the virus, in addition to the lungs, may affect other vascularized organs to a common receptor on lung epithelium and the endothelium of any organ.&#x0D; The kidney, which has a large endothelium surface, is affected, and COVID-19 may lead to acute renal failure.&#x0D; &#x0D; On the other hand, the virus may easily spread among people who are on hemodialysis three times a week. People on hemodialysis may have low immunity, and the virus may have dangerous effects on such people.&#x0D; Finally, renal transplant patients may be easily affected, and the virus may have severe consequences, even death.&#x0D; &#x0D; We will summarize the principal prophylactic measures to be adopted and the therapeutic measures available. Clearly due to the recent occurrence of the pandemic the majority these measures lack a basis in evidence-based medicine and only highlight the efforts to limit COVID-19 induced damage.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

‘Agitate! Agitate! Agitate!’: Sport as a site for political activism and social change

Is sport an appropriate forum for activists to engage in political protest? In recent years, this question has been the subject of conversations in households, public spaces such as barbershops and coffee shops, and social media and newsrooms, as various high-profile athletes have used their sport platforms to call attention to various social injustices existing within the US society. The purpose of the following interview is to provide further insight into this intersection between sport and politics and the use of sport as a site for political resistance and social change. Dave Zirin, a critical sports journalist, is the sports editor for The Nation and author of several books on the politics of sport. This interview with Dave Zirin offers a nuanced understanding on the recent occurrences involving athlete activism and the overall use of sport as a site for political activism and social change. Topics covered include race and racism in America, social responsibility, and social movements, among others.

Genetic Diversity and Signatures of Selection in a Native Italian Horse Breed Based on SNP Data.

Simple SummaryThe Bardigiano horse is a native Italian breed bred for living in rural areas, traditionally used in agriculture. The breed counts about 3000 horses, and it is nowadays mainly used for recreational purposes. The relatively small size and the closed status of the breed raise the issue of monitoring genetic diversity. We therefore characterized the breed’s genetic diversity based on molecular data. We showed a critical reduction of genetic variability mainly driven by past bottlenecks. We also highlighted homozygous genomic regions that might be the outcome of directional selection in recent years, in line with the conversion of Bardigiano horses from agricultural to riding purposes.Horses are nowadays mainly used for sport and leisure activities, and several local breeds, traditionally used in agriculture, have been exposed to a dramatic loss in population size and genetic diversity. The loss of genetic diversity negatively impacts individual fitness and reduces the potential long-term survivability of a breed. Recent advances in molecular biology and bioinformatics have allowed researchers to explore biodiversity one step further. This study aimed to evaluate the loss of genetic variability and identify genomic regions under selection pressure in the Bardigiano breed based on GGP Equine70k SNP data. The effective population size based on Linkage Disequilibrium (Ne) was equal to 39 horses, and it showed a decline over time. The average inbreeding based on runs of homozygosity (ROH) was equal to 0.17 (SD = 0.03). The majority of the ROH were relatively short (91% were ≤2 Mbp long), highlighting the occurrence of older inbreeding, rather than a more recent occurrence. A total of eight ROH islands, shared among more than 70% of the Bardigiano horses, were found. Four of them mapped to known quantitative trait loci related to morphological traits (e.g., body size and coat color) and disease susceptibility. This study provided the first genome-wide scan of genetic diversity and selection signatures in an Italian native horse breed.