Comparative genomics of Fusarium species causing Fusarium ear rot of maize.

Fusarium ear rot (FER), caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium verticillioides, stands as one of the most economically burdensome and pervasive diseases affecting maize worldwide. Its impact on food security is particularly pronounced due to the production of fumonisins, toxic secondary metabolites that pose serious health risks, especially for livestock. FER disease severity is complex and polygenic, with few resistance (R) genes being identified for use in breeding resistant varieties.

A Review of Probe-Based Enrichment Methods to Inform Plant Virus Diagnostics.

Modern diagnostic techniques based on DNA sequence similarity are currently the gold standard for the detection of existing and emerging pathogens. Whilst individual assays are inexpensive to use, assay development is costly and carries risks of not being sensitive or specific enough to capture an increasingly diverse range of targets. Sequencing can provide the entire nucleic acid content of a sample and may be used to identify all pathogens present in the sample when the depth of coverage is sufficient.

Prediction of resistance, virulence, and host-by-pathogen interactions using dual-genome prediction models.

Integrating disease screening data and genomic data for host and pathogen populations into prediction models provides breeders and pathologists with a unified framework to develop disease resistance. Developing disease resistance in crops typically consists of exposing breeding populations to a virulent strain of the pathogen that is causing disease. While including a diverse set of pathogens in the experiments would be desirable for developing broad and durable disease resistance, it is logistically complex and uncommon, and limits our capacity to implement dual (host-by-pathogen)-genome prediction models.

Being pregnant and becoming a parent during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal qualitative study with women in the Born in Bradford COVID-19 research study.

Background: Uncertainty around the risk of COVID-19 to pregnant women and their babies prompted precautionary restrictions on their health and care during the pandemic. Maternity services had to adapt to changing Government guidance. Coupled with the imposition of national lockdowns in England and restrictions on daily activities, women's experiences of pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period, and their access to services, changed rapidly.

Translating virome analyses to support biosecurity, on-farm management, and crop breeding.

Virome analysis high-throughput sequencing (HTS) allows rapid and massive virus identification and diagnoses, expanding our focus from individual samples to the ecological distribution of viruses in agroecological landscapes. Decreases in sequencing costs combined with technological advances, such as automation and robotics, allow for efficient processing and analysis of numerous samples in plant disease clinics, tissue culture laboratories, and breeding programs. There are many opportunities for translating virome analysis to support plant health.

Accounting for population structure in genomic predictions of Eucalyptus globulus.

Genetic groups have been widely adopted in tree breeding to account for provenance effects within pedigree-derived relationship matrices. However, provenances or genetic groups have not yet been incorporated into single-step genomic BLUP ("HBLUP") analyses of tree populations. To quantify the impact of accounting for population structure in Eucalyptus globulus, we used HBLUP to compare breeding value predictions from models excluding base population effects and models including either fixed genetic groups or the marker-derived proxies, also known as metafounders.

Comparative Genomics of Isolates Used to Screen Southern Pines for Pitch Canker Resistance.

Pitch canker, caused by the fungal pathogen , is a global disease affecting many spp. Often fatal, this disease causes significant mortality in both commercially grown and natural pine forests and is an issue of current and growing concern. isolates collected from three locations in the U.

Draft Genome Sequence and Assembly of a Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Isolate Collected from the Andean Region in Colombia.

We report a draft genome assembly of the causal agent of tomato vascular wilt, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. isolate 59, obtained from the Andean region in Colombia.

Will the real relationship between lean and safety/ergonomics please stand up?

This paper provides a review of studies containing safety and ergonomic outcomes in lean manufacturing (LM) environments over the past 40 years. The aim is to identify effects from specific LM methods on specific safety/ergonomic outcomes, to understand the relationship in greater detail. One hundred and one studies containing one hundred and seventy outcomes were identified.

NLR diversity and candidate fusiform rust resistance genes in loblolly pine.

Resistance to fusiform rust disease in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is a classic gene-for-gene system. Early resistance gene mapping in the P. taeda family 10-5 identified RAPD markers for a major fusiform rust resistance gene, Fr1.

Single-step genomic BLUP enables joint analysis of disconnected breeding programs: an example with Eucalyptus globulus Labill.

Single-step GBLUP (HBLUP) efficiently combines genomic, pedigree, and phenotypic information for holistic genetic analyses of disjunct breeding populations. We combined data from two independent multigenerational Eucalyptus globulus breeding populations to provide direct comparisons across the programs and indirect predictions in environments where pedigreed families had not been evaluated. Despite few known pedigree connections between the programs, genomic relationships provided the connectivity required to create a unified relationship matrix, H, which was used to compare pedigree-based and HBLUP models.

Draft Genome Sequences of Three Fusarium circinatum Isolates Used To Inoculate a Pedigreed Population of Seedlings.

Here, we announce the draft genome sequences of three isolates that were used to inoculate slash pines () at the U.S. Forest Service Resistance Screening Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

Effective Altruism as an Ethical Lens on Research Priorities.

Effective altruism is an ethical framework for identifying the greatest potential benefits from investments. Here, we apply effective altruism concepts to maximize research benefits through identification of priority stakeholders, pathosystems, and research questions and technologies. Priority stakeholders for research benefits may include smallholder farmers who have not yet attained the minimal standards set out by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; these farmers would often have the most to gain from better crop disease management, if their management problems are tractable.

Comparison of host susceptibilities to native and exotic pathogens provides evidence for pathogen-imposed selection in forest trees.

The extent to which spatial structuring of host resistance in wild plant populations reflects direct pathogen-imposed selection is a subject of debate. To examine this issue, genetic susceptibilities to an exotic and a coevolved native fungal pathogen were compared using two Australian host tree species. Damage to common host germplasm of Corymbia citriodora ssp.

Screening Eucalyptus cloeziana and E. argophloia Populations for Resistance to Puccinia psidii.

Disease screening to determine the threat Puccinia psidii poses to plantation and native eucalypts in Australia was undertaken in half-sib families of two contrasting eucalypt species, Eucalyptus cloeziana and E. argophloia. Artificial inoculation with a single-lesion isolate of P.

Association genetics in Corymbia citriodora subsp. variegata identifies single nucleotide polymorphisms affecting wood growth and cellulosic pulp yield.

Wood is an important biological resource which contributes to nutrient and hydrology cycles through ecosystems, and provides structural support at the plant level. Thousands of genes are involved in wood development, yet their effects on phenotype are not well understood. We have exploited the low genomic linkage disequilibrium (LD) and abundant phenotypic variation of forest trees to explore allelic diversity underlying wood traits in an association study.

Endoluminal stent-graft placement for repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms in the community setting.

Purpose: To demonstrate that results similar to high-volume academic centers can be achieved in the community setting when treating abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) using endovascular techniques, given appropriate volume and skill sets.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of 342 consecutive patients who underwent endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) by surgeons in a community hospital group from October 1999 through September 2005. In this population, 245 (71.

Urocortin expression in mouse cochlear nucleus and Scarpa's ganglion.

Objectives/hypothesis: Clinical and basic studies have correlated tinnitus with stress. Although the etiology of tinnitus is unknown, the cochlear nucleus (CN) appears to play a role. To better understand the potential impact of stress on tinnitus and modulation of the central auditory system in general, the goal of the current study was to examine the presence and distribution of axon terminals containing urocortin in the CN of the mouse.

Laser myringoplasty for tympanic membrane atelectasis.

Objective: To review our experience with laser myringoplasty using a potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) laser for pars tensa atelectasis.

Study Design: Retrospective review.

Methods: A pulsed diode KTP laser (532 nm) was used to tighten the tympanic membrane after lysis of middle ear adhesions through a myringotomy.

Parathyroid hormone-related peptide as a cause of hypercalcemia in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: a case presentation and subject review.

Background: Serum levels of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) can be elevated with malignancy and cause hypercalcemia, which has been associated with a poor prognosis.

Methods: We present a case of supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma with elevated serum PTHrP and hypercalcemia. The patient was acutely managed with intravenous fluids, furosemide, and zoledronic acid and then underwent a total laryngectomy and modified radical neck dissection.

Surgery for duodenal ulcer. A study relating indications to the results of surgery.

The present study correlates the indications for operation in 215 patients with duodenal ulcer disease with the results of operative management. The majority of patients had conservative surgery utilizing truncal vagotomy and pyloroplasty or gastrojejunostomy. None of the 194 patients operated on electively died and four patients died after emergency operations, for an overall operative mortality in the entire series of 1.