bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Exploring the diversity of virulence genes in the Magnaporthe population infecting millets and rice in India
Authors: Palanna K. B. , Vinaykumar H. D. , Prasanna S Koti. , Rajashekara H. , Devanna B. N. , Anilkumar C. , Jeevan B. , Raveendra H. R. , Khan Farooq , Bhavana C. H. Sai , Upadhyay Vinod , Patro T. S. S. K. , Rawat Laxmi , Rajesh M. , Saravanan P. T. , Netam Prahlad , Rajesha G. , Das I. K. , Patil H. E. , Jain A. K. , Saralamma S. , Nayaka S. Chandra , Prakash G. , Nagaraja T. E.
Published: May 2023

Blast pathogen,Magnaporthespp., that infects ancient millet crops such pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, barnyard millet, and rice was isolated from different locations of blast hotspots in India using single spore isolation technique and 136 pure isolates were established. Numerous growth characteristics were capturedviamorphogenesis analysis. Among the 10 investigated virulent genes, we could amplify MPS1 (TTK Protein Kinase) and Mlc (Myosin Regulatory Light Chain edc4) in majority of tested isolates, regardless of the crop and region where they were collected, indicating that these may be crucial for their virulence. Additionally, among the four avirulence (Avr) genes studied,Avr-Pizthad the highest frequency of occurrence, followed byAvr-Pia. It is noteworthy to mention thatAvr-Pikwas present in the least number of isolates (9) and was completely absent from the blast isolates from finger millet, foxtail millet, and barnyard millet. A comparison at the molecular level between virulent and avirulent isolates indicated observably large variation both across (44%) and within (56%) them. The 136Magnaporthespp isolates were divided into four groups using molecular markers. Regardless of their geographic distribution, host plants, or tissues affected, the data indicate that the prevalence of numerous pathotypes and virulence factors at the field level, which may lead to a high degree of pathogenic variation. This research could be used for the strategic deployment of resistant genes to develop blast disease-resistant cultivars in rice, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet, and barnyard millet.
Behavioral adaptation of sympatric rodents to early germination of oak acorns: radicle pruning and embryo excision
Authors: Zhang Mingming , Yang Xifu , Dong Zhong , Liu Shuyuan , Chen Huanhuan , Yi Xianfeng
Published: May 2023

The seed germination schedule is a key factor affecting the food-hoarding behavior of animals and the seedling regeneration of plants. However, little is known about the behavioral adaptation of rodents to the rapid germination of acorns. In this study, we provided Quercus variabilis acorns to several rodent species to investigate how food-hoarding animals respond to seed germination. We found that only Apodemus peninsulae adopted embryo excision behavior to counteract seed germination, which is the first report of embryo excision in nonsquirrel rodents. We speculated that this species may be at an early stage of the evolutionary response to seed perishability in rodents, given the low rate of embryo excision in this species. On the contrary, all rodent species preferred to prune the radicles of germinating acorns before caching, suggesting that radicle pruning is a stable and more general foraging behavior strategy for food-hoarding rodents. Furthermore, scatter-hoarding rodents preferred to scatter-hoard and prune more germinating acorns, whereas they consumed more nongerminating acorns. Acorns with embryos excised rather than radicles pruned were much less likely to germinate than intact acorns, suggesting a behavioral adaptation strategy by rodents to the rapid germination of recalcitrant seeds. This study provides insight into the impact of early seed germination on plant–animal interactions.
Dew benefits on alpine grasslands are cancelled out by combined heatwave and drought stress
Authors: Li Yafei , Eugster Werner , Riedl Andreas , Lehmann Marco M. , Aemisegger Franziska , Buchmann Nina
Published: May 2023

Increasing frequencies of heatwaves combined with simultaneous drought stress in Europe threaten the ecosystem water and carbon budgets of alpine grasslands. Dew as an additional water source can promote ecosystem carbon assimilation. It is known that grassland ecosystems keep high evapotranspiration as long as soil water is available. However, it is rarely being investigated whether dew can mitigate the impact of such extreme climatic events on grassland ecosystem carbon and water exchange. Here we use stable isotopes in meteoric waters and leaf sugars, eddy covariance fluxes for H2O vapor and CO2, in combination with meteorological and plant physiological measurements, to investigate the combined effect of dew and heat-drought stress on plant water status and net ecosystem production (NEP) in an alpine grassland (2000 m elevation) during the June 2019 European heatwave. Before the heatwave, enhanced NEP in the early morning hours can be attributed to leaf wetting by dew. However, dew benefits on NEP were cancelled out by the heatwave, due to the minor contribution of dew in leaf water. Heat-induced reduction in NEP was intensified by the combined effect of drought stress. The recovery of NEP after the peak of the heatwave could be linked to the refilling of plant tissues during nighttime. Among-genera differences of plant water status affected by dew and heat-drought stress can be attributed to differences in their foliar dew water uptake, and their reliance on soil moisture or the impact of the atmospheric evaporative demand. Our results indicate that dew influence on alpine grassland ecosystems varies according to the environmental stress and plant physiology.
Integrating biochemical and anatomical characterizations with transcriptome analysis to dissect superior stem strength of ZS11 (Brassica napus)
Authors: Tian Zhengshu , Wang Xinfa , Dun Xiaoling , Tian Ze , Zhang Xiaoxue , Li Jinfeng , Ren Lijun , Tu Jinxing , Wang Hanzhong
Published: May 2023

Stem lodging resistance is a serious problem impairing crop yield and quality. ZS11 is an adaptable and stable yielding rapeseed variety with excellent resistance to lodging. However, the mechanism regulating lodging resistance in ZS11 remains unclear. Here, we observed that high stem mechanical strength is the main factor determining the superior lodging resistance of ZS11 through a comparative biology study. Compared with 4D122, ZS11 has higher rind penetrometer resistance (RPR) and stem breaking strength (SBS) at flowering and silique stages. Anatomical analysis shows that ZS11 exhibits thicker xylem layers and denser interfascicular fibrocytes. Analysis of cell wall components suggests that ZS11 possessed more lignin and cellulose during stem secondary development. By comparative transcriptome analysis, we reveal a relatively higher expression of genes required for S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthesis, and several key genes (4-COUMATATE-CoA LIGASE, CINNAMOYL-CoA REDUCTASE, CAFFEATE O-METHYLTRANSFERASE, PEROXIDASE) involved in lignin synthesis pathway in ZS11, which support an enhanced lignin biosynthesis ability in the ZS11 stem. Moreover, the difference in cellulose may relate to the significant enrichment of DEGs associated with microtubule-related process and cytoskeleton organization at the flowering stage. Protein interaction network analysis indicate that the preferential expression of several genes, such as LONESOME HIGHWAY (LHW), DNA BINDING WITH ONE FINGERS (DOFs), WUSCHEL HOMEOBOX RELATED 4 (WOX4), are related to vascular development and contribute to denser and thicker lignified cell layers in ZS11. Taken together, our results provide insights into the physiological and molecular regulatory basis for the formation of stem lodging resistance in ZS11, which will greatly promote the application of this superior trait in rapeseed breeding.
LightMixer: A novel lightweight convolutional neural network for tomato disease detection
Authors: Zhong Yi , Teng Zihan , Tong Mengjun
Published: May 2023

Tomatoes are among the very important crops grown worldwide. However, tomato diseases can harm the health of tomato plants during growth and reduce tomato yields over large areas. The development of computer vision technology offers the prospect of solving this problem. However, traditional deep learning algorithms require a high computational cost and several parameters. Therefore, a lightweight tomato leaf disease identification model called LightMixer was designed in this study. The LightMixer model comprises a depth convolution with a Phish module and a light residual module. Depth convolution with the Phish module represents a lightweight convolution module designed to splice nonlinear activation functions with depth convolution as the backbone; it also focuses on lightweight convolutional feature extraction to facilitate deep feature fusion. The light residual module was built based on lightweight residual blocks to accelerate the computational efficiency of the entire network architecture and reduce the information loss of disease features. Experimental results show that the proposed LightMixer model achieved 99.3% accuracy on public datasets while requiring only 1.5 M parameters, an improvement over other classical convolutional neural network and lightweight models, and can be used for automatic tomato leaf disease identification on mobile devices.
Genomic prediction with haplotype blocks in wheat
Authors: Difabachew Yohannes Fekadu , Frisch Matthias , Langstroff Anna Luise , Stahl Andreas , Wittkop Benjamin , Snowdon Rod J. , Koch Michael , Kirchhoff Martin , Cselényi László , Wolf Markus , Förster Jutta , Weber Sven , Okoye Uche Joshua , Zenke-Philippi Carola
Published: May 2023

Haplotype blocks might carry additional information compared to single SNPs and have therefore been suggested for use as independent variables in genomic prediction. Studies in different species resulted in more accurate predictions than with single SNPs in some traits but not in others. In addition, it remains unclear how the blocks should be built to obtain the greatest prediction accuracies. Our objective was to compare the results of genomic prediction with different types of haplotype blocks to prediction with single SNPs in 11 traits in winter wheat. We built haplotype blocks from marker data from 361 winter wheat lines based on linkage disequilibrium, fixed SNP numbers, fixed lengths in cM and with the R package HaploBlocker. We used these blocks together with data from single-year field trials in a cross-validation study for predictions with RR-BLUP, an alternative method (RMLA) that allows for heterogeneous marker variances, and GBLUP performed with the software GVCHAP. The greatest prediction accuracies for resistance scores for B. graminis, P. triticina, and F. graminearum were obtained with LD-based haplotype blocks while blocks with fixed marker numbers and fixed lengths in cM resulted in the greatest prediction accuracies for plant height. Prediction accuracies of haplotype blocks built with HaploBlocker were greater than those of the other methods for protein concentration and resistances scores for S. tritici, B. graminis, and P. striiformis. We hypothesize that the trait-dependence is caused by properties of the haplotype blocks that have overlapping and contrasting effects on the prediction accuracy. While they might be able to capture local epistatic effects and to detect ancestral relationships better than single SNPs, prediction accuracy might be reduced by unfavorable characteristics of the design matrices in the models that are due to their multi-allelic nature.
Physiology and growth of newly bred Basmati rice lines in response to vegetative-stage drought stress
Authors: Waheed Raheela , Deeba Farah , Zulfiqar Faisal , Moosa Anam , Nafees Muhammad , Altaf Muhammad Ahsan , Arif Muhammad , Siddique Kadambot H. M.
Published: May 2023

Basmati rice is inherently sensitive to various environmental stresses. Abrupt changes in climatic patterns and freshwater scarcity are escalating the issues associated with premium-quality rice production. However, few screening studies have selected Basmati rice genotypes suitable for drought-prone areas. This study investigated 19 physio-morphological and growth responses of 15 Super Basmati (SB) introgressed recombinants (SBIRs) and their parents (SB and IR554190-04) under drought stress to elucidate drought-tolerance traits and identify promising lines. After two weeks of drought stress, several physiological and growth performance traits significantly varied between the SBIRs (p ≤ 0.05) and were less affected in the SBIRs and the donor (SB and IR554190-04) than SB. The total drought response indices (TDRI) identified three superior lines (SBIR-153-146-13, SBIR-127-105-12, SBIR-62-79-8) and three on par with the donor and drought-tolerant check (SBIR-17-21-3, SBIR-31-43-4, SBIR-103-98-10) in adapting to drought conditions. Another three lines (SBIR-48-56-5, SBIR-52-60-6, SBIR-58-60-7) had moderate drought tolerance, while six lines (SBIR-7-18-1, SBIR-16-21-2, SBIR-76-83-9, SBIR-118-104-11, SBIR-170-258-14, SBIR-175-369-15) had low drought tolerance. Furthermore, the tolerant lines exhibited mechanisms associated with improved shoot biomass maintenance under drought by adjusting resource allocation to roots and shoots. Hence, the identified tolerant lines could be used as potential donors in drought-tolerant rice breeding programs, administered for subsequent varietal development, and studied to identify the genes underlying drought tolerance. Moreover, this study improved our understanding of the physiological basis of drought tolerance in SBIRs.
Resource availability and parasitism intensity influence the response of soybean to the parasitic plant Cuscuta australis
Authors: Yuan Yong-Ge , Gao Fang-Lei , Yu Fei-Hai , Li Jun-Min , Li Mai-He
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Parasitic plants can damage crop plants and consequently cause yield losses and thus threaten food security. Resource availability (e.g., phosphorus, water) has an important role in the response of crop plants to biotic attacks. However, how the growth of crop plants under parasitism are affected by environmental resource fluctuation is poorly understood.

Methods

We conducted a pot experiment to test the effects of the intensity of Cuscuta australis parasitism and the availability of water and phosphorus (P) on soybean shoot and root biomass.

Results and discussion

We found that low-intensity parasitism caused ~6% biomass reduction, while high-intensity parasitism caused ~26% biomass reduction in soybean. Under 5–15% water holding capacity (WHC), the deleterious effect of parasitism on soybean hosts was ~60% and ~115% higher than that under 45–55% WHC and 85–95% WHC, respectively. When the P supply was 0 μM, the deleterious effect of parasitism on soybean was 67% lower than that when the P supply was 20 μM. Besides, the biomass of C. australis was highest when both the water and the P availability were lowest. Cuscuta australis caused the highest damage to soybean hosts under 5 μM P supply, 5–15% WHC, and high-intensity parasitism. Additionally, C. australis biomass was significantly and negatively related to the deleterious effect of parasitism on soybean hosts and to the total biomass of soybean hosts under high-intensity parasitism, but not under low-intensity parasitism. Although high resource availability can promote soybean growth, the two resources have different impacts on the response of hosts to parasitism. Higher P availability decreased host tolerance to parasites, while higher water availability increased host tolerance. These results indicate that crop management, specifically water and phosphorus supply, can efficiently control C. australis in soybean. To our best knowledge, this appears to be the first study to test the interactive effect of different resources on the growth and response of host plants under parasitism.
Towards microalga-based superfoods: heterologous expression of zeolin in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Authors: Perozeni Federico , Pivato Matteo , Angelini Margherita , Maricchiolo Elisa , Pompa Andrea , Ballottari Matteo
Published: May 2023

Microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic organisms that can be grown in artificial systems to capture CO2, release oxygen, use nitrogen- and phosphorus-rich wastes, and produce biomass and bioproducts of interest including edible biomass for space exploration. In the present study, we report a metabolic engineering strategy for the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to produce high-value proteins for nutritional purposes. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a species approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for human consumption, and its consumption has been reported to improve gastrointestinal health in both murine models and humans. By utilizing the biotechnological tools available for this green alga, we introduced a synthetic gene encoding a chimeric protein, zeolin, obtained by merging the γ-zein and phaseolin proteins, in the algal genome. Zein and phaseolin are major seed storage proteins of maize (Zea mays) and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) that accumulate in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and storage vacuoles, respectively. Seed storage proteins have unbalanced amino acid content, and for this reason, need to be complemented with each other in the diet. The chimeric recombinant zeolin protein represents an amino acid storage strategy with a balanced amino acid profile. Zeolin protein was thus efficiently expressed in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii; thus, we obtained strains that accumulate this recombinant protein in the endoplasmic reticulum, reaching a concentration up to 5.5 fg cell-1, or secrete it in the growth medium, with a titer value up to 82 µg/L, enabling the production of microalga-based super-food.
An integrated nitrogen utilization gene network and transcriptome analysis reveal candidate genes in response to nitrogen deficiency in Brassica napus
Authors: Li Pengfeng , Du Runjie , Li Zhaopeng , Chen Zhuo , Li Jiana , Du Hai
Published: May 2023

Nitrogen (N) is an essential factor for crop yield. Here, we characterized 605 genes from 25 gene families that form the complex gene networks of N utilization pathway in Brassica napus. We found unequal gene distribution between the An- and Cn-sub-genomes, and that genes derived from Brassica rapa were more retained. Transcriptome analysis indicated that N utilization pathway gene activity shifted in a spatio-temporal manner in B. napus. A low N (LN) stress RNA-seq of B. napus seedling leaves and roots was generated, which proved that most N utilization related genes were sensitive to LN stress, thereby forming co-expression network modules. Nine candidate genes in N utilization pathway were confirmed to be significantly induced under N deficiency conditions in B. napus roots, indicating their potential roles in LN stress response process. Analyses of 22 representative species confirmed that the N utilization gene networks were widely present in plants ranging from Chlorophyta to angiosperms with a rapid expansion trend. Consistent with B. napus, the genes in this pathway commonly showed a wide and conserved expression profile in response to N stress in other plants. The network, genes, and gene-regulatory modules identified here represent resources that may enhance the N utilization efficiency or the LN tolerance of B. napus.
How to better balance academic achievement and learning anxiety from time on homework? A multilevel and classification and regression tree analyses
Authors: Wu Xiaopeng , Wu Rongxiu , Hanley Carol , Liu Hongyun , Liu Jian
Published: May 2023

Using education survey data from 153, 317 Grade 4 students and 150, 040 Grade 8 students in China, this study examined the relationship between time on homework and academic achievement and learning anxiety with hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and classification and regression tree (CART) approaches. With a classification of time spent on homework into four related variables, this study found that, firstly, time spent on in-school homework during weekdays had positive effects on students’ achievement for both grades, and the positive effect was stronger for Grade 8 students than Grade 4 students. Moreover, a maximum of 1 h was recommended for Grade 4 students. Secondly, time spent on out-of-school homework on weekdays was negatively correlated with students’ academic achievement and positively with learning anxieties. It had greater detrimental effect on Grade 8 than Grade 4. Thirdly, Grade 8 students were encouraged to have more out-of-school homework on weekend with more than 2.8 h on average recommended. It was expected to complement extant studies and provide the practical findings for teachers, practitioners and school policy makers in making any homework assignment planning or conducting interventions.
Social and emotional development of disadvantaged students and its relationship with academic performance: evidence from China
Authors: Huang Chunhan , Zeng Xiaodong
Published: May 2023

This research examined the relationships between students’ academic performance and their social and emotional skills in China, as well as the mediation pathways from the perspective of connectedness and social cognitive theory. A sample of 5,703 fourth to sixth graders from less affluent areas was investigated in a large-scale survey. The results indicated that students’ academic performance had salient positive connections with their socio-emotional skills. Structural equation modeling results revealed that both students’ perception of themselves (self-efficacy) and their relation with key persons (teacher-student relationship) played mediated roles in the association between academic achievement and social and emotional skills with the indirect path accounting for 66.66% of the total effect. This study highlights the important role of socioemotional skills in academic performance and suggests the need for further research to develop effective strategies and interventions for socioemotional development in Chinese students.
The virtues in psychiatric treatment
Authors: Peteet John Raymond
Published: May 2023

Virtues, understood as excellent character traits, originally defined human flourishing, but have been historically neglected within psychiatric practice. Reasons include concerns about scientific objectivity, realistic expectations, and therapeutic moralism. Renewed interest in their clinical relevance has been spurred by problems in sustaining professionalism, growing attention to virtue ethics, empirical support for the benefits of virtues such as gratitude, and the emergence of a fourth wave of growth promoting therapies. Increasing evidence supports the incorporation of a virtues based perspective into diagnostic assessment, goal-setting, and treatment.
Systematic review of machine learning utilization within outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy research
Authors: Rollmann Ivo , Gebhardt Nadja , Stahl-Toyota Sophia , Simon Joe , Sutcliffe Molly , Friederich Hans-Christoph , Nikendei Christoph
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Although outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy is effective, there has been no improvement in treatment success in recent years. One way to improve psychodynamic treatment could be the use of machine learning to design treatments tailored to the individual patient's needs. In the context of psychotherapy, machine learning refers mainly to various statistical methods, which aim to predict outcomes (e.g., drop-out) of future patients as accurately as possible. We therefore searched various literature for all studies using machine learning in outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy research to identify current trends and objectives.

Methods

For this systematic review, we applied the Preferred Reporting Items for systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Guidelines.

Results

In total, we found four studies that used machine learning in outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy research. Three of these studies were published between 2019 and 2021.

Discussion

We conclude that machine learning has only recently made its way into outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy research and researchers might not yet be aware of its possible uses. Therefore, we have listed a variety of perspectives on how machine learning could be used to increase treatment success of psychodynamic psychotherapies. In doing so, we hope to give new impetus to outpatient psychodynamic psychotherapy research on how to use machine learning to address previously unsolved problems.
Transcranial direct-current stimulation enhances Pavlovian tendencies during intermittent loss of control
Authors: Sedlinská Terezie , Bolte Lara , Melsæter Eirik , Mittner Matthias , Csifcsák Gábor
Published: May 2023

Introduction

Pavlovian bias is an innate motivational tendency to approach rewards and remain passive in the face of punishment. The relative reliance on Pavlovian valuation has been found to increase when the perceived control over environmental reinforcers is compromised, leading to behavior resembling learned helplessness (LH).

Methods

Sixty healthy young adults underwent a Go-NoGo reinforcement learning task and received anodal high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the medial prefrontal/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex in our randomized, double-blind, sham- controlled study. Furthermore, we evaluated changes in cue-locked mid-frontal theta power derived from simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG). We hypothesized that active stimulation would reduce Pavlovian bias during manipulation of outcome controllability, and the effect would be accompanied by stronger mid-frontal theta activity, representing arbitration between choice strategies in favor of instrumental relative to Pavlovian valuation.

Results

We found a progressive decrease in Pavlovian bias during and after loss of control over feedback. Active HD-tDCS counteracted this effect while not affecting the mid-frontal theta signal.

Discussion

The results were at odds with our hypotheses but also with previous findings reporting LH-like patterns during and after loss of control without brain stimulation. The discrepancy may be related to different protocols for the controllability manipulation. We argue that the subjective evaluation of task controllability is crucial in mediating the balance between Pavlovian and instrumental valuation during reinforcement learning and that the medial prefrontal/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex is a key region in this respect. These findings have implications for understanding the behavioral and neural underpinnings of LH in humans.
Using point-of-care HbA1c to facilitate the identification of diabetes and abnormal glucose regulation in primary healthcare settings
Authors: Pi Linhua , Zheng Ying , Shi Xiajie , Wang Zhen , Zhou Zhiguang
Published: May 2023

Background

Glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is a critical index for the diagnosis and glycemic control evaluation of diabetes. However, a standardized method for HbA1c measurement is unaffordable and unavailable among the Chinese population in low-resource rural settings. Point-of-care (POC) HbA1c testing is convenient and inexpensive, but its performance remains to be elucidated.

Objective

To investigate the value of POC HbA1c for identifying diabetes and abnormal glucose regulation (AGR) in the resource-limited Chinese population.

Methods

Participants were recruited from 6 Township Health Centers in Hunan Province. Samples for POC HbA1c, venous HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose, and 2 h-plasma glucose were obtained after physical examination. The oral glucose tolerance test was performed as the gold standard for diagnosis. The diagnostic capacities of the POC HbA1c measurement in predicting undiagnosed diabetes and AGR were evaluated.

Results

Among 388 participants, 274 (70.6%) normoglycemic controls, 63 (16.2%) prediabetes patients, and 51 (13.1%) diabetes patients were identified with oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Meanwhile, among 97 participants who underwent two HbA1c detection methods simultaneously, a positive correlation was found between POC HbA1c and standardized HbA1c (r = 0.75, P < 0.001). No notable systematic difference was observed from the Bland-Altman Plots. The POC HbA1c cutoff values were 5.95 and 5.25%, which efficiently identified diabetes (AUC 0.92) and AGR (AUC 0.89), respectively.

Conclusions

The alternative POC HbA1c test efficiently discriminated AGR and diabetes from normoglycemia, especially among the Chinese population in primary healthcare settings.
Chronic epididymitis due to Chlamydia trachomatis LGV-L2 in an HIV-negative heterosexual patient: a case report
Authors: Paira Daniela Andrea , Olmedo José Javier , Olivera Carolina , Tissera Andrea Daniela , Molina Rosa Isabel , Rivero Virginia Elena , Motrich Rubén Darío , Saka Héctor Alex
Published: May 2023

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular pathogen and the leading bacterial cause of sexually transmitted infections worldwide. Chlamydia trachomatis genovars L1–L3 are responsible for lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), an invasive sexually transmitted disease endemic in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, South America, the Caribbean, India and South East Asia. The typical signs and symptoms of C. trachomatis LGV urogenital infections in men include herpetiform ulcers, inguinal buboes, and/or lymphadenopathies. Since 2003, endemic cases of proctitis and proctocolitis caused by C. trachomatis LGV emerged in Europe, mainly in HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM). Scarce data have been reported about unusual clinical presentations of C. trachomatis LGV urogenital infections. Herein, we report a case of a 36-year-old heterosexual, HIV-negative male declaring he did not have sex with men or trans women, who presented to the Urology and Andrology outpatient clinic of a healthcare center from Cordoba, Argentina, with intermittent testicular pain over the preceding 6 months. Doppler ultrasound indicated right epididymitis and funiculitis. Out of 17 sexually transmitted infections (STIs) investigated, a positive result was obtained only for C. trachomatis. Also, semen analysis revealed oligoasthenozoospermia, reduced sperm viability as well as increased sperm DNA fragmentation and necrosis, together with augmented reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and the presence of anti-sperm IgG autoantibodies. In this context, doxycycline 100 mg/12 h for 45 days was prescribed. A post-treatment control documented microbiological cure along with resolution of clinical signs and symptoms and improved semen quality. Strikingly, sequencing of the ompA gene revealed C. trachomatis LGV L2 as the causative uropathogen. Remarkably, the patient did not present the typical signs and symptoms of LGV. Instead, the infection associated with chronic testicular pain, semen inflammation and markedly reduced sperm quality. To our knowledge, this is the first reported evidence of chronic epididymitis due to C. trachomatis LGV L2 infection in an HIV-negative heterosexual man. These findings constitute important and valuable information for researchers and practitioners and highlight that C. trachomatis LGV-L2 should be considered as putative etiologic agent of chronic epididymitis, even in the absence of the typical LGV signs and symptoms.
Metagenomic next-generation sequencing confirms the diagnosis of Legionella pneumonia with rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury in a limited resource area: a case report and review
Authors: Du Rao , Feng Yinhe , Wang Yubin , Huang Jifeng , Tao Yuhan , Mao Hui
Published: May 2023

Background

Legionella pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis, and acute kidney injury are called the Legionella triad, which is rare and associated with a poor outcome and even death. Early diagnosis and timely treatment are essential for these patients.

Case presentation

A 63-year-old man with cough, fever, and fatigue was initially misdiagnosed with common bacterial infection and given beta-lactam monotherapy but failed to respond to it. Conventional methods, including the first Legionella antibody test, sputum smear, and culture of sputum, blood, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were negative. He was ultimately diagnosed with a severe infection of Legionella pneumophila by metagenomics next-generation sequencing (mNGS). This patient, who had multisystem involvement and manifested with the rare triad of Legionella pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis, and acute kidney injury, finally improved after combined treatment with moxifloxacin, continuous renal replacement therapy, and liver protection therapy.

Conclusion

Our results showed the necessity of early diagnosis of pathogens in severe patients, especially in Legionnaires' disease, who manifested with the triad of Legionella pneumonia, rhabdomyolysis, and acute kidney injury. mNGS may be a useful tool for Legionnaires' disease in limited resource areas where urine antigen tests are not available.
COVID-19 vaccination dynamics in the US: coverage velocity and carrying capacity based on socio-demographic vulnerability indices in California's pediatric population
Authors: Bruckhaus Alexander A. , Khan Azrin , Pickering Trevor A. , Abedi Aidin , Salehi Sana , Duncan Dominique
Published: May 2023

Introduction

COVID-19 vaccine inequities have been widespread across California, the United States, and globally. As COVID-19 vaccine inequities have not been fully understood in the youth population, it is vital to determine possible factors that drive inequities to enable actionable change that promotes vaccine equity among vulnerable minor populations.

Methods

The present study used the social vulnerability index (SVI) and daily vaccination numbers within the age groups of 12–17, 5–11, and under 5 years old across all 58 California counties to model the growth velocity and the anticipated maximum proportion of population vaccinated.

Results

Overall, highly vulnerable counties, when compared to low and moderately vulnerable counties, experienced a lower vaccination rate in the 12–17 and 5–11 year-old age groups. For age groups 5–11 and under 5 years old, highly vulnerable counties are expected to achieve a lower overall total proportion of residents vaccinated. In highly vulnerable counties in terms of socioeconomic status and household composition and disability, the 12–17 and 5–11 year-old age groups experienced lower vaccination rates. Additionally, in the 12–17 age group, high vulnerability counties are expected to achieve a higher proportion of residents vaccinated compared to less vulnerable counterparts.

Discussion

These findings elucidate shortcomings in vaccine uptake in certain pediatric populations across California and may help guide health policies and future allocation of vaccines, with special emphasis placed on vulnerable populations, especially with respect to socioeconomic status and household composition and disability.
Making districts functional for universal health coverage attainment: lessons from Ghana
Authors: Karamagi Humphrey Cyprian , Sy Sokona , Kipruto Hillary , Kembabazi Bertha , Kidane Solyana Ngusbrhan , Moyo Thandekile Ntombikayise , Titi-Ofei Regina , Atweam Dominic , Debpuur Cornelius , Ofosu Anthony , Kasolo Francis Chisaka
Published: May 2023

Ensuring the sub national level in the health system can function effectively is central to attainment of health results in countries. However, the current health agenda has not prioritized how districts can deploy their existing resources effectively, to maximize the efficiency equity and effectiveness in their use. Ghana initiated a self-assessment process to understand the functionality of districts to deliver on health results. The assessment was conducted by health managers in 33 districts during August–October 2022 using tools pre-developed by the World Health Organization. Functionality was explored around service provision, oversight, and management capacities, each with defined dimensions and attributes. The objective of the study was to highlight specific functionality improvements needed by districts in terms of investments and access to service delivery in achieving Universal Health Care. The results showed a lack of correlation between functionality and performance as is currently defined in Ghana; a higher functionality of oversight capacity compared to service provision or management capacities; and specifically low functionality for dimensions relating to capacity to make available quality services, responsiveness to beneficiaries and the systems and three structures for health management. The findings highlight the need to shift from quantitative outcome indicator-based performance approaches to measures of total health and wellbeing of beneficiaries. Specific functionality improvements are needed to improve the engagement and answerability to the beneficiaries, investments in access to services, and in building management architecture.
Effects of congruity on the state of user presence in virtual environments: Results from a breaching experiment
Authors: Cahill Tiernan J. , Cummings James J.
Published: May 2023

The present study investigates how the user state of presence is affected by contingencies in the design of virtual environments. The theoretical framework of congruity is herein explicated, which builds upon the concept of plausibility illusion as one of the essential prerequisites for presence, and which systematically explains and predicts presence in terms of alignment between schemata in the user’s memory and stimuli presented within the virtual environment. Three dimensions of congruity are explicated and discussed: sensory, environmental, and thematic. A series of breaching experiments were conducted in a virtual environment testing the effects of each dimension of incongruity on presence. These experiments were inconclusive regarding the effects of sensory and environmental congruity; however, the results strongly suggest that the state of presence is contingent upon thematic congruity in virtual environments. This finding has theoretical significance insofar as it points towards the necessity of considering genre and cultural context in predicting user states in virtual environments. The study also has practical relevance to designers and developers of content for virtual reality in that it identifies a critical psychological consideration for the user experience that is absent from existing models.
Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for dried traditional mangos from Kitui – A marketing analysis for Kenya and Germany
Authors: Uckert Götz , Cavicchi Andrea , Soika Jil , Matavel Custodio , Mule Mirriam , Lerantilei Salama , Turoop Losenge , Mutia Temi , Ronner Esther , Mithöfer Dagmar , Sieber Stefan
Published: May 2023

The Kenyan mango value chain faces high post-harvest losses due to poor market access alongside a lack of storage technologies and processing facilities. Thus, using fruit processing methods, like solar drying, can enhance shelf life and help smallholder farmers access new markets, diversifying income and livelihoods. Nonetheless, the processing of both indigenous and grafted mango fruits is not a very common practice. This study was conducted to support product development targeting processing and marketing to link farmers to both local and export markets. Four independent consumer testing and sensory evaluation rounds on Kitui’s dried mango flakes were conducted in Germany and Kenya. Data were collected via a group tasting by 31 randomly selected participants and an online questionnaire of 304 randomly selected participants. All participants were given samples of different varieties of dried mango flakes with and without additives. Results show that high-quality mango cultivars, like Ngowe, receive high hedonic scores without any additives (honey, sodium metabisulfite, or ascorbic acid). Some varieties positively respond to the treatments and achieve higher scores, e.g., Van Dyke or the indigenous variety Kikamba. The consumers testing in Germany show that extrinsic attributes, such as organic production, fair trade, cooperative, and sustainable labelled flakes open up new opportunities for farmers who aim for the export market. Against findings derived from German panellists, in Kenya, consumers do not show a higher willingness to pay despite having a positive attitude toward sustainability. Thus, the local market should focus on cost-reduction strategies rather than introducing standardisation.
Designing probiotic-containing fermented food to improve mental disorders derived from childhood emotional neglect
Authors: Hevia-Orozco Jorge , González-González Cid R.
Published: May 2023

Emotional neglect (EN) during childhood is a worldwide problem compromising cognitive functions and mental health. Its scars can be life-lasting and often associated with community violence. Therefore, different approaches are mandatory to reduce its detrimental effects. This review discusses the EN's negative impact on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, its consequences on the immune system, and its subsequent impact on the limbic system. On the other hand, growing evidence shows that gut microbiota affects mental health and vice versa; mental disorders affect microbiota leading to dysbiosis and triggering other metabolic malfunctions. Production of functional fermented foods containing targeted probiotic strains and neuroactive compounds released during fermentation may aid to modulate inflammation via immune processes alleviating anxiety and depressive symptoms and improving cognitive function. Therefore, we propose that tailored probiotic-containing fermented food can improve the mental health of EN victims via immune system modulation.
Development of a data-driven approach to Adverse Outcome Pathway network generation: a case study on the EATS-modalities
Authors: Wiklund Linus , Caccia Sara , Pípal Marek , Nymark Penny , Beronius Anna
Published: May 2023

Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs) summarize mechanistic understanding of toxicological effects and have, for example, been highlighted as a promising tool to integrate data from novel in vitro and in silico methods into chemical risk assessments. Networks based on AOPs are considered the functional implementation of AOPs, as they are more representative of complex biology. At the same time, there are currently no harmonized approaches to generate AOP networks (AOPNs). Systematic strategies to identify relevant AOPs, and methods to extract and visualize data from the AOP-Wiki, are needed. The aim of this work was to develop a structured search strategy to identify relevant AOPs in the AOP-Wiki, and an automated data-driven workflow to generate AOPNs. The approach was applied on a case study to generate an AOPN focused on the Estrogen, Androgen, Thyroid, and Steroidogenesis (EATS) modalities. A search strategy was developed a priori with search terms based on effect parameters in the ECHA/EFSA Guidance Document on Identification of Endocrine Disruptors. Furthermore, manual curation of the data was performed by screening the contents of each pathway in the AOP-Wiki, excluding irrelevant AOPs. Data were downloaded from the Wiki, and a computational workflow was utilized to automatically process, filter, and format the data for visualization. This study presents an approach to structured searches of AOPs in the AOP-Wiki coupled to an automated data-driven workflow for generating AOPNs. In addition, the case study presented here provides a map of the contents of the AOP-Wiki related to the EATS-modalities, and a basis for further research, for example, on integrating mechanistic data from novel methods and exploring mechanism-based approaches to identify endocrine disruptors (EDs). The computational approach is freely available as an R-script, and currently allows for the (re)-generation and filtering of new AOP networks based on data from the AOP-Wiki and a list of relevant AOPs used for filtering.
Evaluation of country infrastructure as an indirect measure of dog-mediated human rabies deaths
Authors: Bonaparte Sarah C. , Moodie Janae , Undurraga Eduardo A. , Wallace Ryan M.
Published: May 2023

Background

Rabies is a neglected disease, primarily due to poor detection stemming from limited surveillance and diagnostic capabilities in most countries. As a result, there is limited ability to monitor and evaluate country, regional, and global progress towards the WHO goal of eliminating human rabies deaths by 2030. There is a need for a low-cost, readily reproducible method of estimating rabies burden and elimination capacity in endemic countries.

Methods

Publicly available economic, environmental, political, social, public health, and One Health indicators were evaluated to identify variables with strong correlation to country-level rabies burden estimates. A novel index was developed to estimate infrastructural rabies elimination capacity and annual case-burden for dog-mediated rabies virus variant (DMRVV) endemic countries.

Findings

Five country-level indicators with superior explanatory value represent the novel “STOP-R index:” (1) literacy rate, (2) infant mortality rate, (3) electricity access, (4) political stability, and (5) presence/severity of natural hazards. Based on the STOP-R index, 40,111 (95% CI 25,854–74,344) global human rabies deaths are estimated to occur in 2022 among DMRVV-endemic countries and are projected to decrease to 32,349 (95% CI 21,110–57,019) in 2030.

Interpretation

The STOP-R index offers a unique means of addressing the data gap and monitoring progress towards eliminating dog-mediated human rabies deaths. Results presented here suggest that factors external to rabies programs influence the successes of rabies elimination, and it is now possible to identify countries exceeding or lagging in expected rabies control and elimination progress based on country infrastructure.
The Tacrolimus Concentration/Dose Ratio Does Not Predict Early Complications After Kidney Transplantation
Authors: von Samson-Himmelstjerna Friedrich Alexander , Messtorff Maja Lucia , Kakavand Nassim , Eisenberger Ute , Korth Johannes , Lange Ulrich , Kolbrink Benedikt , Aldag Leon , Schulze Dieckhoff Tobias , Feldkamp Thorsten , Kunzendorf Ulrich , Harth Ana , Schulte Kevin
Published: May 2023

Early-on post kidney transplantation, there is a high risk of graft rejection and opportunistic viral infections. A low tacrolimus concentration/dose (C/D) ratio as a surrogate marker of fast tacrolimus metabolism has been established for risk stratification 3 months post-transplantation (M3). However, many adverse events occurring earlier might be missed, and stratification at 1 month post-transplantation (M1) has not been investigated. We retrospectively analyzed case data from 589 patients who had undergone kidney transplantation between 2011 and 2021 at three German transplant centers. Tacrolimus metabolism was estimated by use of the C/D ratio at M1, M3, M6, and M12. C/D ratios increased substantially during the year, particularly between M1 and M3. Many viral infections and most graft rejections occurred before M3. Neither at M1 nor at M3 was a low C/D ratio associated with susceptibility to BKV viremia or BKV nephritis. A low C/D ratio at M1 could not predict acute graft rejections or impaired kidney function, whereas at M3 it was significantly associated with subsequent rejections and impairment of kidney function. In summary, most rejections occur before M3, but a low C/D ratio at M1 does not identify patients at risk, limiting the predictive utility of this stratification approach.