Key concepts and a world-wide look at plant recruitment networks.

Plant-plant interactions are major determinants of the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems. There is a long tradition in the study of these interactions, their mechanisms and their consequences using experimental, observational and theoretical approaches. Empirical studies overwhelmingly focus at the level of species pairs or small sets of species.

Longitudinal transcriptional changes reveal genes from the natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity pathway as critical players underlying COVID-19 progression.

Patients present a wide range of clinical severities in response severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection, but the underlying molecular and cellular reasons why clinical outcomes vary so greatly within the population remains unknown. Here, we report that negative clinical outcomes in severely ill patients were associated with divergent RNA transcriptome profiles in peripheral immune cells compared with mild cases during the first weeks after disease onset. Protein-protein interaction analysis indicated that early-responding cytotoxic natural killer cells were associated with an effective clearance of the virus and a less severe outcome.

Intransitivity in plant-soil feedbacks is rare but is associated with multispecies coexistence.

Although plant-soil feedback (PSF) is being recognized as an important driver of plant recruitment, our understanding of its role in species coexistence in natural communities remains limited by the scarcity of experimental studies on multispecies assemblages. Here, we experimentally estimated PSFs affecting seedling recruitment in 10 co-occurring Mediterranean woody species. We estimated weak but significant species-specific feedback.

Spatio-temporal dynamics of vehicles: Fusion of traffic data and context information.

We present a dataset for vehicle tracking in a rural area. Specifically, in the Barranco de Poqueira region, which includes the municipalities of Pampaneira, Bubión, and Capileira in the Sierra Nevada National Park, Granada, Spain. Four Hikvision License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras collect vehicle entries and exits to each village.

Systematic design of health monitoring systems centered on older adults and ADLs.

Background: Older adults face unique health challenges as they age, including physical and mental health issues and mood disorders. Negative emotions and social isolation significantly impact mental and physical health. To support older adults and address these challenges, healthcare professionals can use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) such as health monitoring systems with multiple sensors.

A semi-automatic mHealth system using wearable devices for identifying pain-related parameters in elderly individuals.

Background: Mobile health systems integrating wearable devices are emerging as promising tools for registering pain-related factors. However, their application in populations with chronic conditions has been underexplored.

Objective: To design a semi-automatic mobile health system with wearable devices for evaluating the potential predictive relationship of pain qualities and thresholds with heart rate variability, skin conductance, perceived stress, and stress vulnerability in individuals with preclinical chronic pain conditions such as suspected rheumatic disease.

Association between exposure to air pollution and blood lipids in the general population of Spain.

Background And Aims: We aimed to assess the associations of exposure to air pollutants and standard and advanced lipoprotein measures, in a nationwide sample representative of the adult population of Spain.

Methods: We included 4647 adults (>18 years), participants in the national, cross-sectional, population-based di@bet.es study, conducted in 2008-2010.

The niche of a stress-tolerant specialist, Dinophysis acuminata, in a coastal upwelling system.

Dinophysis acuminata, the main cause of shellfish harvesting bans in Europe, blooms in the Galician Rías (NW Spain) throughout the upwelling season (ca. March to September). Here we illustrate rapid changes in vertical and across ría-shelf distributions of diatoms and dinoflagellates (including D.

Technical note: A mobile collaborative workspace to assist forensic experts in disaster victim identification scenarios.

Integrated approaches to disaster victim identification (DVI) management have led to a need for technologies to improve interaction among parties involved in post-mortem (PM) and ante-mortem (AM) data collection through better communication and coordination. Mobile Forensic Workspace© (MFW) is a collaborative mobile system that not only facilitates the systematic collection of high-quality data, but also allows DVI professionals to coordinate activities and exchange data through secure real-time communication at major disaster scenarios in accordance with security, privacy and legal protocols. MFW is adaptable to any communication format (text, voice calls, photographs, etc.

Mapping dinoflagellate blooms (Noctiluca and Alexandrium) in aquaculture production areas in the NW Iberian Peninsula with the Sentinel-2/3 satellites.

The Galician Rías (northwestern Spain) are periodically affected by harmful algal blooms (HABs), mostly dinoflagellates, which pose a challenge to aquaculture activities due to the accumulation of biotoxins in shellfish. Typically, reddish blooms in the Rías are associated with non-toxic species like Noctiluca scintillans, with a few exceptions such as Alexandrium minutum, a producer of paralytic shellfish toxins (PST). Here, a useful approach is presented for monitoring reddish blooms through satellite imagery based on three case studies, two of them belonged to monospecific blooms of red Noctiluca scintillans, and the third to a bloom of Alexandrium spp.

RecruitNet: A global database of plant recruitment networks.

Plant recruitment interactions (i.e., what recruits under what) shape the composition, diversity, and structure of plant communities.

A psycho-educational intervention programme for parents with SGA foetuses supported by an adaptive mHealth system: design, proof of concept and usability assessment.

Background: Technology-based approaches during pregnancy can facilitate the self-reporting of emotional health issues and improve well-being. There is evidence to suggest that stress during pregnancy can affect the foetus and result in restricted growth and preterm birth. Although a number of mobile health (mHealth) approaches are designed to monitor pregnancy and provide information about a specific aspect, no proposal specifically addresses the interventions in parents at risk of having small-for-gestational-age (SGA) or premature babies.

Scale dependency of ectomycorrhizal fungal community assembly processes in Mediterranean mixed forests.

The assembly of biological communities depends on deterministic and stochastic processes whose influence varies across spatial and temporal scales. Although ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi play a key role in forest ecosystems, our knowledge on ECM community assembly processes and their dependency on spatial scales is still scarce. We analysed the assembly processes operating on ECM fungal communities associated with Cistus albidus L.

IgG targeting distinct seasonal coronavirus- conserved SARS-CoV-2 spike subdomains correlates with differential COVID-19 disease outcomes.

Despite SARS-CoV-2 being a "novel" virus, early detection of anti-spike IgG in severe COVID-19 patients may be caused by the amplification of humoral memory responses against seasonal coronaviruses. Here, we examine this phenomenon by characterizing anti-spike IgG responses in non-hospitalized convalescent individuals across a spectrum of COVID-19 severity. We observe that disease severity positively correlates with anti-spike IgG levels, IgG cross-reactivity against other betacoronaviruses (β-CoVs), and FcγR activation.

Sustained Antibody-Dependent NK Cell Functions in Mild COVID-19 Outpatients During Convalescence.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic has left researchers scrambling to identify the humoral immune correlates of protection from COVID-19. To date, the antibody mediated correlates of virus neutralization have been extensively studied. However, the extent that non-neutralizing functions contribute to anti-viral responses are ill defined.

Liver transplant with controlled donors after circulatory death with normothermic regional perfusion and brain dead donors: A multicenter cohort study of transfusion, one-year graft survival and mortality.

Background: Controlled donation after circulatory death (cDCD) has expanded the donor pool for liver transplantation (LT). However, transfusion requirements and perioperative outcomes should be elucidated. The aim of this multicenter study was to assess red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, one-year graft and patient survival after LT after cDCD with normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) compared with donors after brain death (DBD).

A machine learning approach for semi-automatic assessment of IADL dependence in older adults with wearable sensors.

Background And Objective: The assessment of dependence in older adults currently requires a manual collection of data taken from questionnaires. This process is time consuming for the clinicians and intrudes the daily life of the elderly. This paper aims to semi-automate the acquisition and analysis of health data to assess and predict the dependence in older adults while executing one instrumental activity of daily living (IADL).

Microbial Community Composition during a Bloom of Purple Bacteria in Intertidal Sediments in Vigo (Northwest Spain).

In summer 2019, a large, bright pink microbial mat was visible on top of macroalgal deposits in muddy sediments of an urban beach (Playa do Adro, Vigo). In order to characterize the dominant organisms in these colored mats, results from microscopic observations, photosynthetic pigments, and molecular analysis were gathered. Light microscopy examination revealed pinkish microbial aggregates with minor contributions of larger protists and cyanobacteria.

Association between long term exposure to particulate matter and incident hypertension in Spain.

Exposure to air particulate matter has been linked with hypertension and blood pressure levels. The metabolic risks of air pollution could vary according to the specific characteristics of each area, and has not been sufficiently evaluated in Spain. We analyzed 1103 individuals, participants in a Spanish nationwide population based cohort study (di@bet.

Therapeutic Efficacy of Human Monoclonal Antibodies against Andes Virus Infection in Syrian Hamsters.

Andes virus, an orthohantavirus endemic to South America, causes severe hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome associated with human-to-human transmission. No approved treatments or vaccines against this virus are available. We show that a combined treatment with 2 monoclonal antibodies protected Syrian hamsters when administered at midstage or late-stage disease.

Cytokine Profiles and Antibody Response Associated to Choclo Orthohantavirus Infection.

Background: New World Hantaviruses (NWHs) are the etiological agent underlying hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS), a severe respiratory disease with high mortality rates in humans. In Panama, infections with (CHOV) cause a much milder illness characterized by higher seroprevalence and lower mortality rates. To date, the cytokine profiles and antibody responses associated with this milder form of HCPS have not been defined.

Reducing Response Time in Motor Imagery Using A Headband and Deep Learning.

Electroencephalography (EEG) signals to detect motor imagery have been used to help patients with low mobility. However, the regular brain computer interfaces (BCI) capturing the EEG signals usually require intrusive devices and cables linked to machines. Recently, some commercial low-intrusive BCI headbands have appeared, but with less electrodes than the regular BCIs.

Differential CD4 T Regulatory Cell Phenotype Induced by Andes Hantavirus Glycoprotein.

Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome (HCPS) caused by Andes orthohantavirus (ANDV) in South America is a public health threat due to the significant rate of mortality and the lack of a specific treatment. Interestingly, the virus does not produce cytopathic effect, thereby the strong antiviral immune response is suspected to contribute to pathogenesis, hence is important to understand the balance between protective and harmfully immunity. CD4 T regulatory cells (Treg) are essential to control an exacerbated immune response.

A Microservices e-Health System for Ecological Frailty Assessment Using Wearables.

The population in developed countries is aging and this fact results in high elderly health costs, as well as a decrease in the number of active working members to support these costs. This could lead to a collapse of the current systems. One of the first insights of the decline in elderly people is frailty, which could be decelerated if it is detected at an early stage.

Insights on early mutational events in SARS-CoV-2 virus reveal founder effects across geographical regions.

Here we aim to describe early mutational events across samples from publicly available SARS-CoV-2 sequences from the sequence read archive and GenBank repositories. Up until 27 March 2020, we downloaded 50 illumina datasets, mostly from China, USA (WA State) and Australia (VIC). A total of 30 datasets (60%) contain at least a single founder mutation and most of the variants are missense (over 63%).