Phenotyping of a new yeast mapping population reveals differences in the activation of the TORC1 signalling pathway between wild and domesticated yeast strains.

Domestication can be understood as a symbiotic relationship that benefits both domesticator and domesticated species, involving multiple genetic changes that configure the phenotype of the domesticated species. One of the most important domesticated species is the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with both domesticated strains used for different fermentations processes for thousands of years and wild strains existing only in environments without human intervention; however, little is known about the phenotypic effects associated with its domestication. In the present work, we studied the effect of domestication on yeast TORC1 activation, a pleiotropic signalling pathway conserved across the eukaryotic domain.

Impacts of an Acute Care Telenursing Program on Discharge, Patient Experience, and Nursing Experience: Retrospective Cohort Comparison Study.

Background: Despite widespread growth of televisits and telemedicine, it is unclear how telenursing could be applied to augment nurse labor and support nursing.

Objective: This study evaluated a large-scale acute care telenurse (ACTN) program to support web-based admission and discharge processes for hospitalized patients.

Methods: A retrospective, observational cohort comparison was performed in a large academic hospital system (approximately 2100 beds) in Houston, Texas, comparing patients in our pilot units for the ACTN program (telenursing cohort) between June 15, 2022, and December 31, 2022, with patients who did not participate (nontelenursing cohort) in the same units and timeframe.

COVID-19 Attitudes and Vaccine Hesitancy among an Agricultural Community in Southwest Guatemala: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Despite offering free-of-charge COVID-19 vaccines starting July 2021, Guatemala has one of the lowest vaccination rates in Latin America. From 28 September 2021 to 11 April 2022, we conducted a cross-sectional survey of community members, adapting a CDC questionnaire to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine access and hesitancy. Of 233 participants ≥ 12 years, 127 (55%) received ≥1 dose of COVID-19 and 4 (2%) reported prior COVID-19 illness.

Bradyrhizobium japonicum IRAT FA3 promotes salt tolerance through jasmonic acid priming in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Background: Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), such as Bradyrhizobium japonicum IRAT FA3, are able to improve seed germination and plant growth under various biotic and abiotic stress conditions, including high salinity stress. PGPR can affect plants' responses to stress via multiple pathways which are often interconnected but were previously thought to be distinct. Although the overall impacts of PGPR on plant growth and stress tolerance have been well documented, the underlying mechanisms are not fully elucidated.

Clinical and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Agricultural Workers, Guatemala.

We evaluated clinical and socioeconomic burdens of respiratory disease in banana farm workers in Guatemala. We offered all eligible workers enrollment during June 15-December 30, 2020, and annually, then tracked them for influenza-like illnesses (ILI) through self-reporting to study nurses, sentinel surveillance at health posts, and absenteeism. Workers who had ILI submitted nasopharyngeal swab specimens for testing for influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV-2, then completed surveys at days 0, 7, and 28.

Challenges and lessons learned from the rapid operationalization of a prospective cohort to study the natural history and neurodevelopmental outcomes of postnatal Zika virus infection among infants and children in rural Guatemala.

During the course of the 2015-2017 outbreak of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas, the emerging virus was recognized as a congenital infection that could damage the developing brain. As the Latin American ZIKV outbreak advanced, the scientific and public health community questioned if this newly recognized neurotropic flavivirus could affect the developing brain of infants and young children infected after birth. We report here the study design, methods and the challenges and lessons learned from the rapid operationalization of a prospective natural history cohort study aimed at evaluating the potential neurological and neurodevelopmental effects of postnatal ZIKV infection in infants and young children, which had become epidemic in Central America.

High SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and Rapid Neutralizing Antibody Decline among Agricultural Workers in Rural Guatemala, June 2020-March 2021.

Essential agricultural workers work under occupational conditions that may increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and transmission. Data from an agricultural worker cohort in Guatemala, and anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG (anti-N IgG) testing were used to estimate past infections and analyze risk factors associated with seropositivity at enrollment and association with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The stability of neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses were assessed in a subset of participants.

Acetaminophen Levels Found in Recycled Wastewater Alter Soil Microbial Community Structure and Functional Diversity.

The practice of using recycled wastewater (RWW) has been successfully adopted to address the growing demand for clean water. However, chemicals of emerging concern (CECs) including pharmaceutical products remain in the RWW even after additional cleaning. When RWW is used to irrigate crops or landscapes, these chemicals can enter these and adjacent environments.

Clinical and Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Plantation Workers: Preliminary Results from the Guatemala Agricultural Workers and Respiratory Illness Impact (AGRI) Study.

We evaluated the clinical and socioeconomic burdens of respiratory disease in a cohort of Guatemalan banana plantation workers. All eligible workers were offered enrollment from June 15-December 30, 2020, and annually, then followed for influenza-like illnesses (ILI) through: 1) self-reporting to study nurses, 2) sentinel surveillance at health posts, and 3) absenteeism. Workers with ILI submitted nasopharyngeal swabs for influenza, RSV, and SARS-CoV-2 testing, then completed surveys at days 0, 7, and 28.

Damage response protein 1 (Dap1) functions in the synthesis of carotenoids and sterols in Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.

Cytochrome P450s (P450s) are heme-containing proteins involved in several cellular functions, including biosynthesis of steroidal hormones, detoxification of xenobiotic compounds, among others. Damage response protein 1 (Dap1) has been described as a positive regulator of P450s through protein-protein interactions in organisms such as Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Three P450s in the carotenogenic yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous have thus far been characterized: Cyp51 and Cyp61, which are involved in ergosterol biosynthesis, and CrtS (astaxanthin synthase), which is involved in biosynthesis of the carotenoid astaxanthin.

IRAT FA3 Alters Root Architecture via Regulation of Auxin Efflux Transporters , , , and .

Beneficial rhizobacteria can stimulate changes in plant root development. Although root system growth is mediated by multiple factors, the regulated distribution of the phytohormone auxin within root tissues plays a principal role. Auxin transport facilitators help to generate the auxin gradients and maxima that determine root structure.

The SREBP (Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein) pathway: a regulatory bridge between carotenogenesis and sterol biosynthesis in the carotenogenic yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous.

Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous is a basidiomycete yeast that naturally produces the red-orange carotenoid astaxanthin, which has remarkable antioxidant properties. The biosynthesis of carotenoids and sterols share some common elements that have been studied in X. dendrorhous.

Peripheral natural killer cells in chronic hepatitis B patients display multiple molecular features of T cell exhaustion.

Antiviral effectors such as natural killer (NK) cells have impaired functions in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. The molecular mechanism responsible for this dysfunction remains poorly characterised. We show that decreased cytokine production capacity of peripheral NK cells from CHB patients was associated with reduced expression of NKp30 and CD16, and defective mTOR pathway activity.

Sterol regulatory element-binding protein Sre1 regulates carotenogenesis in the red yeast .

is a basidiomycete yeast that produces carotenoids, mainly astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is an organic pigment of commercial interest due to its antioxidant and coloring properties. has a functional SREBP pathway, and the Sre1 protein is the SREBP homolog in this yeast.

Mechanisms of Copper Tolerance, Accumulation, and Detoxification in the Marine Macroalga (Chlorophyta): 20 Years of Research.

Copper induces an oxidative stress condition in the marine alga that is due to the production of superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide, mainly in organelles. The increase in hydrogen peroxide is accompanied by increases in intracellular calcium and nitric oxide, and there is a crosstalk among these signals. The increase in intracellular calcium activates signaling pathways involving Calmodulin-dependent Protein Kinases (CaMKs) and Calcium-Dependent Protein Kinases (CDPKs), leading to activation of gene expression of antioxidant enzymes and enzymes involved in ascorbate (ASC) and glutathione (GSH) synthesis.

Isolation and Characterization of Copper- and Zinc- Binding Metallothioneins from the Marine Alga (Chlorophyta).

In this work, transcripts encoding three metallothioneins from (UcMTs) were amplified: The 5'and 3' UTRs by RACE-PCR, and the open reading frames (ORFs) by PCR. Transcripts encoding UcMT1.1 (-like), UcMT2 (-like), and UcMT3 (-like) showed a 5'UTR of 61, 71, and 65 nucleotides and a 3'UTR of 418, 235, and 193 nucleotides, respectively.

Metallopeptidase Stp1 activates the transcription factor Sre1 in the carotenogenic yeast .

is a basidiomycete yeast known as a natural producer of astaxanthin, a carotenoid of commercial interest because of its antioxidant properties. Recent studies indicated that has a functional SREBP pathway involved in the regulation of isoprenoid compound biosynthesis, which includes ergosterol and carotenoids. SREBP is a major regulator of sterol metabolism and homeostasis in mammals; characterization in fungi also provides information about its role in the hypoxia adaptation response and virulence.

Clinical Outcomes of Percutaneous Plantar Fasciotomy Using Microdebrider Coblation Wand.

Background: Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain in adults. Multiple conservative treatment plans exist; however, some cases do not obtain significant clinical improvement with conservative treatment and require further intervention. This retrospective case study evaluated the success rate of percutaneous plantar fasciotomy and confounding comorbidities that negatively affect outcomes.

A quantitative, retrospective inquiry of the impact of a provider-guided low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet on adults in a wellness clinic setting.

Aims: Despite the critical status of obesity as an epidemic chronic illness in the United States contributing toward diabetic and cardiovascular disease as well as early preventable death, treatment approaches in primary care remain in conflict; providers lack evidence-based guidelines toward impactful disease management, particularly from dietary approaches. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of initiation of a 5-10% low-carbohydrate, 75-85% high-fat diet on specific clinical indicators of obesity, a metabolic disease associated with increased morbidity and mortality, at baseline and six months in an adult population.

Materials And Methods: Utilizing a retrospective electronic medical record data collection protocol, one hundred patients with obesity in a wellness clinic in the Southwestern United States between 2017 and 2018 prescribed a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet were selected via simple random sampling.

Oligo-carrageenan kappa increases glucose, trehalose and TOR-P and subsequently stimulates the expression of genes involved in photosynthesis, and basal and secondary metabolisms in Eucalyptus globulus.

Background: It has been previously shown that oligo-carrageenan (OC) kappa increases growth, photosynthesis and activities of enzymes involved in basal and secondary metabolisms in Eucalyptus globulus. However, it is not known whether OC kappa may induce the activation of TOR pathway and the increase in expression of genes encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis and enzymes of basal and secondary metabolisms.

Results: E.

Sterol Regulatory Element-Binding Protein (Sre1) Promotes the Synthesis of Carotenoids and Sterols in .

is a basidiomycete yeast that synthesizes carotenoids, mainly astaxanthin, which are of great commercial interest. Currently, there are many unknown aspects related to regulatory mechanisms on the synthesis of carotenoids in this yeast. Our recent studies showed that changes in sterol levels and composition resulted in upregulation of genes in the mevalonate pathway required for the synthesis of carotenoid precursors, leading to increased production of these pigments.

Copper excess detoxification is mediated by a coordinated and complementary induction of glutathione, phytochelatins and metallothioneins in the green seaweed Ulva compressa.

In order to analyze the involvement of intracellular thiol-chelators in the accumulation and detoxification of copper, the marine alga Ulva compressa was cultivated with increasing concentrations of copper such as 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 μM for up to 12 d, and the amount of intracellular copper, glutathione (GSH), phytochelatins (PCs) and transcripts encoding three metallothioneins (MTs) were determined.

Functional characterization of thiolase-encoding genes from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous and their effects on carotenoid synthesis.

Background: The basidiomycetous yeast Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous has been described as a potential biofactory for terpenoid-derived compounds due to its ability to synthesize astaxanthin. Functional knowledge of the genes involved in terpenoid synthesis would create opportunities to enhance carotenoid production. A thiolase enzyme catalyzes the first step in terpenoid synthesis.

Copper-Induced Membrane Depolarizations Involve the Induction of Mosaic TRP Channels, Which Activate VDCC Leading to Calcium Increases in Ulva compressa.

The marine macroalga Ulva compressa (Chlorophyceae) is a cosmopolitan species, tolerant to heavy metals, in particular to copper. U. compressa was cultivated with 10 μM copper for 12 h and membrane depolarization events were detected.

Copper-induced activation of TRP channels promotes extracellular calcium entry, activation of CaMs and CDPKs, copper entry and membrane depolarization in Ulva compressa.

In order to identify channels involved in membrane depolarization, Ulva compressa was incubated with agonists of TRP channels C5, A1 and V1, and the level of intracellular calcium was detected. Agonists of TRPC5, A1 and V1 induced increases in intracellular calcium at 4, 9, and 11 min of exposure, respectively, and antagonists of TRPC5, A1, and V1 corresponding to SKF-96365 (SKF), HC-030031 (HC), and capsazepin (CPZ), respectively, inhibited calcium increases indicating that functional TRPs exist in U. compressa.