Genome Insights into Beneficial Microbial Strains Composing SIMBA Microbial Consortia Applied as Biofertilizers for Maize, Wheat and Tomato.

For the safe use of microbiome-based solutions in agriculture, the genome sequencing of strains composing the inoculum is mandatory to avoid the spread of virulence and multidrug resistance genes carried by them through horizontal gene transfer to other bacteria in the environment. Moreover, the annotated genomes can enable the design of specific primers to trace the inoculum into the soil and provide insights into the molecular and genetic mechanisms of plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity. In the present work, the genome sequences of some members of beneficial microbial consortia that have previously been tested in greenhouse and field trials as promising biofertilizers for maize, tomato and wheat crops have been determined.

Plastic Surgery Involvement With Surgical Management of Infected Ventricular Assist Devices Decreased Lifetime Return to Operating Room and 90-Day Infectious Complications.

Background: The use of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) for patients with end-stage cardiac failure awaiting heart transplantation has become increasingly common. However, ventricular assist device-related infections remain a major problem complicating their long-term use. Retrospective review has previously shown a decrease in lifetime return to operating room (RTOR) with no change in 90-day complications when a muscle or omental flap is used for coverage after washout for infection.

Sustainable strategies: Nature-based solutions to tackle antibiotic resistance gene proliferation and improve agricultural productivity and soil quality.

The issue of antibiotic resistance is now recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as one of the major problems in human health. Although its effects are evident in the healthcare settings, the root cause should be traced back to the One Health link, extending from animals to the environment. In fact, the use of organic fertilizers in agroecosystems represents one, if not the primary, cause of the introduction of antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria into the soil.

Effects of municipal waste compost on microbial biodiversity and energy production in terrestrial microbial fuel cells.

Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) transform organic matter into electricity through microbial electrochemical reactions catalysed on anodic and cathodic half-cells. Terrestrial MFCs (TMFCs) are a bioelectrochemical system for bioelectricity production as well as soil remediation. In TMFCs, the soil is the ion-exchange electrolyte, whereas a biofilm on the anode oxidises organic matter through electroactive bacteria.

Bioaccumulation of antibiotics and resistance genes in lettuce following cattle manure and digestate fertilization and their effects on soil and phyllosphere microbial communities.

The degradation and bioaccumulation of selected antibiotics such as the sulfonamide sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and the fluoroquinolones enrofloxacin (ENR) and ciprofloxacin (CIP) were investigated in soil microcosm experiments where Lactuca sativa was grown with manure or digestate (1%) and spiked with a mixture of the three antibiotics (7.5 mg/kg each). The soil, rhizosphere and leaf phyllosphere were sampled (at 0 and 46 days) from each microcosm to analyze the antibiotic concentrations, main resistance genes (sul1, sul2, qnrS, aac-(6')-Ib-crand qepA), the intI1and tnpA mobile genetic elements and the microbial community structure.

Effects of Ciprofloxacin Alone or in Mixture with Sulfamethoxazole on the Efficiency of Anaerobic Digestion and Its Microbial Community.

Some livestock farms rely on anaerobic digestion (AD) technology for manure disposal, thus obtaining energy (biogas) and fertilizer (digestate). Mixtures of antibiotics used for animal health often occur in organic waste and their possible synergistic/antagonistic effects on microorganisms involved in AD are still poorly studied. This work focuses on the effects of adding ciprofloxacin, alone (5 mg L) and in combination with sulfamethoxazole (2.

Breast Ultrasound Volume Sweep Imaging: A New Horizon in Expanding Imaging Access for Breast Cancer Detection.

Objective: The majority of people in the world lack basic access to breast diagnostic imaging resulting in delay to diagnosis of breast cancer. In this study, we tested a volume sweep imaging (VSI) ultrasound protocol for evaluation of palpable breast lumps that can be performed by operators after minimal training without prior ultrasound experience as a means to increase accessibility to breast ultrasound.

Methods: Medical students without prior ultrasound experience were trained for less than 2 hours on the VSI breast ultrasound protocol.

Deletion or Inhibition of Astrocytic Transglutaminase 2 Promotes Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury.

Following CNS injury, astrocytes become "reactive" and exhibit pro-regenerative or harmful properties. However, the molecular mechanisms that cause astrocytes to adopt either phenotype are not well understood. Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) plays a key role in regulating the response of astrocytes to insults.

A survey of the radiological follow-up of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in the United Kingdom.

Objective: Unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA) are common. For many the treatment risks outweigh their risk of subarachnoid haemorrhage and patients undergo surveillance imaging. There is little data to inform if and how to monitor UIAs resulting in widely varying practices.

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in anaerobic digesters and predicted concentrations in agroecosystems.

In recent decades, the innovative practice of management and valorization of agrozootechnical waste as energy through anaerobic digestion (AD) has been rapidly growing. However, whether applying digestate to soil as biofertilizer can be a source of antibiotics (ABs) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has not been fully investigated so far. In this work the ARGs responsible for sulfamethoxazole (SMX) resistance (sul1, sul2), ciprofloxacin (CIP) resistance (qnrS, qepA, aac-(6')-Ib-cr) and the mobile genetic element intl1, together with the concentrations of the antibiotics SMX and CIP, were measured in several anaerobic digesters located in Central Italy.

Bioaugmentation With a Consortium of Bacterial Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate-Degraders for Remediation of Contaminated Soils.

The anionic surfactant sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) is the main component of most commercial foaming agents (FAs) used in the excavation of highway and railway tunnels with Earth pressure balance-tunnel boring machines (EPB-TBMs). Several hundreds of millions of tons of spoil material, consisting of soil mixed with FAs, are produced worldwide, raising the issue of their handling and safe disposal. Reducing waste production and reusing by-products are the primary objectives of the "circular economy," and in this context, the biodegradation of SLES becomes a key question in reclaiming excavated soils, especially at construction sites where SLES degradation on the spot is not possible because of lack of space for temporary spoil material storage.

Anaerobic Digestion and Removal of Sulfamethoxazole, Enrofloxacin, Ciprofloxacin and Their Antibiotic Resistance Genes in a Full-Scale Biogas Plant.

Anaerobic digestion is one of the best ways to re-use animal manure and agricultural residues, through the production of combustible biogas and digestate. However, the use of antibiotics for preventing and treating animal diseases and, consequently, their residual concentrations in manure, could introduce them into anaerobic digesters. If the digestate is applied as a soil fertilizer, antibiotic residues and/or their corresponding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) could reach soil ecosystems.

Management of poor grade sub-arachnoid haemorrhage - clinical judgement v/s a formal model.

Objective: The poor grade subarachnoid haemorrhage patients represent a unique cohort with lack of clear treatment protocol. Most neurosurgical units in the UK will manage them at local hospital until they make a significant recovery, this period can put them at higher risk of rebleed while with aggressive treatment a significant subset can achieve a favourable outcome. Identification of this subset is difficult and decision to treat them is associated with significant commitment of neurosurgical and ITU resources.

Effects of Sulfamethoxazole on the Microbial Community Dynamics During the Anaerobic Digestion Process.

Anaerobic digestion (AD) treatment of cattle manure and slurry makes it possible to produce biogas, a renewable and storable biofuel, as well as digestate, a residual organic matter that can be used to replace chemical fertilizers. On the other hand, the intense use of antibiotics (e.g.

Isolation and Characterization in a Soil Conditioned With Foaming Agents of a Bacterial Consortium Able to Degrade Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate.

The anionic surfactant Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate (SLES) is the principal component of several commercial foaming products for soil conditioning in the tunneling industry. Huge amounts of spoil material are produced during the excavation process and the presence of SLES can affect its re-use as a by-product. Anionic surfactants can be a risk for ecosystems if occurring in the environment at toxic concentrations.

The hypoxic expression of the glucose transporter RAG1 reveals the role of the bHLH transcription factor Sck1 as a novel hypoxic modulator in Kluyveromyces lactis.

Glucose is the preferred nutrient for most living cells and is also a signaling molecule that modulates several cellular processes. Glucose regulates the expression of glucose permease genes in yeasts through signaling pathways dependent on plasma membrane glucose sensors. In the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, sufficient levels of glucose induction of the low-affinity glucose transporter RAG1 gene also depends on a functional glycolysis, suggesting additional intracellular signaling.

Respiratory and Peripheral Muscle Assessment in the Intensive Care Unit.

Atrophy and weakness of the respiratory and peripheral muscles is a common problem in the intensive care unit (ICU). It is difficult to diagnose, particularly in the early stages of critical disease. Consequently, many cases are detected only in advanced stages, for example, when difficulties in mechanical ventilation weaning are encountered.

Unsaturated fatty acids-dependent linkage between respiration and fermentation revealed by deletion of hypoxic regulatory KlMGA2 gene in the facultative anaerobe-respiratory yeast Kluyveromyces lactis.

In the yeast Kluyveromyces lactis, the inactivation of structural or regulatory glycolytic and fermentative genes generates obligate respiratory mutants which can be characterized by sensitivity to the mitochondrial drug antimycin A on glucose medium (Rag(-) phenotype). Rag(-) mutations can occasionally be generated by the inactivation of genes not evidently related to glycolysis or fermentation. One such gene is the hypoxic regulatory gene KlMGA2.

Oral reduced L-glutathione improves growth in pediatric cystic fibrosis patients.

Background And Objective: Consensus nutritional guidelines for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) recommend aggressive treatment of growth failure. Oral reduced glutathione (GSH) has been shown to improve cachexia and case reports have demonstrated improved growth in pediatric patients with CF. No controlled studies using oral GSH in CF have, however, been reported.

Thrombus formation in a dilated torcula following aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage.

A case of thrombus formation occurring within a dilation of the dural venous sinuses following aneurysmal sub-arachnoid haemorrhage is presented. Acute neurological deterioration accompanied propagation of the thrombus. The patient was anticoagulated on day 5 post-SAH with no haemorrhagic complications and made a full recovery.

The intracranial facial nerve as seen through different surgical windows: an extensive anatomosurgical study.

Background: The facial nerve has a short intracranial course but crosses critical and frequently accessed surgical structures during cranial base surgery. When performing approaches to complex intracranial regions, it is essential to understand the nerve's conventional and topographic anatomy from different surgical perspectives as well as its relationship with surrounding structures.

Objective: To describe the entire intracranial course of the facial nerve as observed via different neurosurgical approaches and to provide an analytical evaluation of the degree of nerve exposure achieved with each approach.

Improvement in clinical markers in CF patients using a reduced glutathione regimen: an uncontrolled, observational study.

CFTR mutation, which causes cystic fibrosis (CF), has also recently been identified as causing glutathione system dysfunction and systemic deficiency of reduced glutathione (GSH). Such dysfunction and deficiency regarding GSH may contribute to the pathophysiology of CF. We followed 13 patients (age range 1-27 years) with cystic fibrosis who were using a regimen of reduced glutathione (GSH), including oral glutathione and inhaled buffered glutathione in an uncontrolled, observational study.

Glomus jugulare tumors: the option of gamma knife radiosurgery.

Objective: Glomus jugulare tumors are generally considered slow-growing, benign lesions. However, their pronounced local aggressiveness frequently results in severe neurological deficits. Surgical removal is rarely radical and is usually associated with morbidity.