Experimental evolution at ecological scales allows linking of viral genotypes to specific host strains.

Viruses shape microbial community structure and activity through the control of population diversity and cell abundances. Identifying and monitoring the dynamics of specific virus-host pairs in nature is hampered by the limitations of culture-independent approaches such as metagenomics, which do not always provide strain-level resolution, and culture-based analyses, which eliminate the ecological background and in-situ interactions. Here, we have explored the interaction of a specific "autochthonous" host strain and its viruses within a natural community.

Saliva "Treat-and-Heat" Triplex Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay for SARS-CoV-2.

The demand for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) molecular diagnostics that are faster, cheaper, and simpler to run than nasopharyngeal-based reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) tests remains unmet in many parts of the world. In the Philippines, geographical and economic access to quality diagnostic testing remains out of reach for many communities. We describe the preclinical development of a fluorescence-based reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification test that uses drooled saliva as the biospecimen.

Prokaryotic and viral community structure in the singular chaotropic salt lake Salar de Uyuni.

Salar de Uyuni (SdU) is the largest hypersaline salt flat and the highest lithium reservoir on Earth. In addition to extreme temperatures and high UV irradiance, SdU has high concentrations of chaotropic salts which can be important factors in controlling microbial diversity. Here, for the first time we characterize the viral diversity of this hypersaline environment during the two seasons, as well as the physicochemical characteristics and the prokaryotic communities of the analysed samples.

Use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging for N-Staging in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. A Systematic Review.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to assess the diagnostic value of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in differentiating metastasic from non-metastatic lymph nodes in NSCLC patients compared with computed tomography (CT) and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) - positron emission tomography (PET) or both combined.

Methods: Twenty-three studies (19 studies and 4 meta-analysis) with sample size ranging between 22 and 250 patients were included in this analysis. MRI, regardless of the sequence obtained, where used for the evaluation of N-staging of NSCLC.

Characterization of ecologically diverse viruses infecting co-occurring strains of cosmopolitan hyperhalophilic Bacteroidetes.

Hypersaline environments close to saturation harbor the highest density of virus-like particles reported for aquatic systems as well as low microbial diversity. Thus, they offer unique settings for studying virus-host interactions in nature. However, no viruses have been isolated so far infecting the two most abundant inhabitants of these systems (that is, the euryarchaeon Haloquadratum walsbyi and the bacteroidetes Salinibacter ruber).

Quantitative proteomics in plant protease substrate identification.

Contents Summary 936 I. Introduction 936 II. The quest for plant protease substrates - proteomics to the rescue? 937 III.

Salivary gland maturation and duct formation in the African malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

Mosquito-borne diseases cause one million deaths and hundreds of millions of human infections yearly. With all such diseases, the pathogen must traverse the mosquito salivary gland (SG) for transmission to a new host, making the SGs ideal targets for genetic strategies to block transmission. Prior studies have elucidated details of SG structure by light and electron microscopy and have deeply explored the salivary transcriptome and proteome.

Proline Coordination with Fatty Acid Synthesis and Redox Metabolism of Chloroplast and Mitochondria.

Proline (Pro) accumulation is one of the most prominent changes in plant metabolism during drought and low water potential; however, the regulation and function of Pro metabolism remain unclear. We used a combination of forward genetic screening based on a Proline Dehydrogenase1 (PDH1) promoter-luciferase reporter (PDH1:LUC2) and RNA sequencing of the Pro synthesis mutant p5cs1-4 to identify multiple loci affecting Pro accumulation in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). Two mutants having high PDH1:LUC2 expression and increased Pro accumulation at low water potential were found to be alleles of Cytochrome P450, Family 86, Subfamily A, Polypeptide2 (CYP86A2) and Long Chain Acyl Synthetase2 (LACS2), which catalyze two successive steps in very-long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) synthesis.

Anxiety and depression predict musculoskeletal disorders in health care workers.

Incidence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is high among health care workers (HCWs). To determine whether MSDs are associated with preexisting anxiety and/or depression, a case-control study was carried out in female HCWs (56 cases/55 controls). Cases were HCWs with a first-time clinical diagnosis of MSD within the previous 2 years.

Broad-range glycosidase activity profiling.

Plants produce hundreds of glycosidases. Despite their importance in cell wall (re)modeling, protein and lipid modification, and metabolite conversion, very little is known of this large class of glycolytic enzymes, partly because of their post-translational regulation and their elusive substrates. Here, we applied activity-based glycosidase profiling using cell-permeable small molecular probes that react covalently with the active site nucleophile of retaining glycosidases in an activity-dependent manner.

Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery: a large, international, prospective cohort study establishing diagnostic criteria, characteristics, predictors, and 30-day outcomes.

Background: Myocardial injury after noncardiac surgery (MINS) was defined as prognostically relevant myocardial injury due to ischemia that occurs during or within 30 days after noncardiac surgery. The study's four objectives were to determine the diagnostic criteria, characteristics, predictors, and 30-day outcomes of MINS.

Methods: In this international, prospective cohort study of 15,065 patients aged 45 yr or older who underwent in-patient noncardiac surgery, troponin T was measured during the first 3 postoperative days.

Proteolytic pathways induced by herbicides that inhibit amino acid biosynthesis.

Background: The herbicides glyphosate (Gly) and imazamox (Imx) inhibit the biosynthesis of aromatic and branched-chain amino acids, respectively. Although these herbicides inhibit different pathways, they have been reported to show several common physiological effects in their modes of action, such as increasing free amino acid contents and decreasing soluble protein contents. To investigate proteolytic activities upon treatment with Gly and Imx, pea plants grown in hydroponic culture were treated with Imx or Gly, and the proteolytic profile of the roots was evaluated through fluorogenic kinetic assays and activity-based protein profiling.

Profiling protein kinases and other ATP binding proteins in Arabidopsis using Acyl-ATP probes.

Many protein activities are driven by ATP binding and hydrolysis. Here, we explore the ATP binding proteome of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana using acyl-ATP (AcATP)(1) probes. These probes target ATP binding sites and covalently label lysine residues in the ATP binding pocket.

Chemical proteomics with sulfonyl fluoride probes reveals selective labeling of functional tyrosines in glutathione transferases.

Chemical probes have great potential for identifying functional residues in proteins in crude proteomes. Here we studied labeling sites of chemical probes based on sulfonyl fluorides (SFs) on plant and animal proteomes. Besides serine proteases and many other proteins, SF-based probes label Tyr residues in glutathione transferases (GSTs).

Divergent low water potential response in Arabidopsis thaliana accessions Landsberg erecta and Shahdara.

The Arabidopsis thaliana accession Shahdara (Sha) differs from Landsberg erecta (Ler) and other accessions in its responses to drought and low water potential including lower levels of proline accumulation. However, Sha maintained greater seedling root elongation at low water potential and a higher NADP/NADPH ratio than Ler. Profiling of major amino acids and organic acids found that Sha had reduced levels of all glutamate family amino acids metabolically related to proline, but increased levels of aspartate-derived amino acids (particularly isoleucine), leucine and valine at low water potential.

Virioplankton community structure in Tunisian solar salterns.

The microbial community inhabiting Sfax solar salterns on the east coast of Tunisia has been studied by means of different molecular and culture-dependent tools that have unveiled the presence of novel microbial groups as well as a community structure different from that of other coastal hypersaline environments. We have focused on the study of the viral assemblages of these salterns and their changes along the salinity gradient and over time. Viruses from three ponds (C4, M1, and TS) encompassing salinities from moderately hypersaline to saturated (around 14, 19, and 35%, respectively) were sampled in May and October 2009 and analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Intron-mediated alternative splicing of Arabidopsis P5CS1 and its association with natural variation in proline and climate adaptation.

Drought-induced proline accumulation is widely observed in plants but its regulation and adaptive value are not as well understood. Proline accumulation of the Arabidopsis accession Shakdara (Sha) was threefold less than that of Landsberg erecta (Ler) and quantitative trait loci mapping identified a reduced function allele of the proline synthesis enzyme Δ(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase1 (P5CS1) as a basis for the lower proline of Sha. Sha P5CS1 had additional TA repeats in intron 2 and a G-to-T transversion in intron 3 that were sufficient to promote alternative splicing and production of a nonfunctional transcript lacking exon 3 (exon 3-skip P5CS1).

Essential role of tissue-specific proline synthesis and catabolism in growth and redox balance at low water potential.

To better define the still unclear role of proline (Pro) metabolism in drought resistance, we analyzed Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Δ(1)-pyrroline-5-carboxylate synthetase1 (p5cs1) mutants deficient in stress-induced Pro synthesis as well as proline dehydrogenase (pdh1) mutants blocked in Pro catabolism and found that both Pro synthesis and catabolism were required for optimal growth at low water potential (ψ(w)). The abscisic acid (ABA)-deficient mutant aba2-1 had similar reduction in root elongation as p5cs1 and p5cs1/aba2-1 double mutants. However, the reduced growth of aba2-1 but not p5cs1/aba2-1 could be complemented by exogenous ABA, indicating that Pro metabolism was required for ABA-mediated growth protection at low ψ(w).

Labeling and enrichment of Arabidopsis thaliana matrix metalloproteases using an active-site directed, marimastat-based photoreactive probe.

Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) are secreted or membrane-bound zinc-containing proteases that play diverse roles in development and immunity in plants and in tissue remodeling in animals. We developed a photoreactive probe based on the MMP inhibitor marimastat, conjugated to a 4-azidotetrafluorobenzoyl moiety as photoreactive group and biotin as detection or sorting function. The probe labels At2-MMP, At4-MMP, At5-MMP, and likely other plant MMPs in leaf extracts, as shown by transient At-MMP expression in Nicotiana benthamiana, protein blot, and LC-MS/MS analysis.

[Specialized training in anesthesiology: the opinions of supervising tutors].

Objective: To evaluate the common curriculum for teaching theoretical knowledge in anesthesiology in Catalonia, Spain; to assess differences between hospital teaching programs, evaluation systems, and the situation for tutors.

Material And Methods: A 35-item questionnaire was sent to 49 accredited tutors during the 2005-2006 academic year. The questionnaire covered 1) the curriculum and training rotations, 2) teaching and research, and 3) assessment and tutorial interventions.

Relationship between the upper airway and obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome in morbidly obese women.

Background: The authors studied changes in the upper airway in morbidly obese women and the relationship to sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAS).

Methods: Patients underwent a cardiorespiratory polygraphic study, respiratory function test (spirometry, plethysmography, maximum inspiratory pressures and arterial blood gas analysis), and computed tomographic studies of the upper airway.

Results: 40 morbidly obese women being evaluated for bariatric surgery (mean age 39.

The progressive effects of ageing on chemosensitivity in healthy subjects.

The aim of this study was to compare the central inspiratory drive (P(0.1)) response to hypoxia and hypercapnia between different age groups of elderly, nonsmoker, healthy subjects and young healthy controls. A random sample, proportionally stratified by age (65-69, 70-74, 75-79 and 80-84 yrs) from a sample of nonsmoker elderly subjects representative of a general population and 47 healthy subjects aged 20-40 were selected.

Exhaled nitric oxide and airway caliber during exercise-induced bronchoconstriction.

Data on the relationship between exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) and exhaled nitric oxide (NO) in adult patients with asthma are controversial. It is unclear whether endogenous NO may act as either a protective or stimulatory factor in the airway response to exercise or whether changes in exhaled NO simply reflect acute narrowing of the airway. The aim of this study was to assess the changes in the fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FE(NO)) before and after exercise challenge in patients with asthma and to analyze the relationship between FE(NO) and airway obstruction.

[Role of oxidative stress in respiratory diseases and its monitoring].

Together with inflammation and subsequent remodeling of airways, an imbalance between oxidative and anti-oxidative agents is generated during the development of numerous pulmonary diseases. This process seems to be involved in both the pathogenesis and chronification of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), SOAS, interstitial lung diseases and cystic fibrosis. Reactive oxygen species including superoxide anion, hidroxyl radicals and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) are synthetised as a response of inflammatory cells and are responsible of the oxidation of nucleic acids, proteins and membrane lipids, leading to cell damage and enhanced inflammation.

Noninvasive measurement of the maximum relaxation rate of inspiratory muscles in patients with neuromuscular disorders.

Background: Slowing of inspiratory muscle relaxation has been used as an index for inspiratory muscle fatigue. However, maximum relaxation rate measured from oesophageal pressure traces after maximum sniff (P(oes) MRR) has limited clinical usefulness because it requires an oesophageal balloon catheter system.

Objectives: It was the aim of this study to establish whether, in neuromuscular patients, maximum relaxation rate assessed from sniff nasal pressure (P(nasal) MRR) reflects oesophageal MRR and the tension-time index of the diaphragm (TT(di)).