Actinomycetota bioprospecting from ore-forming environments

Natural products from Actinomycetota have served as inspiration for many clinically relevant therapeutics. Despite early triumphs in natural product discovery, the rate of unearthing new compounds has decreased, necessitating inventive approaches. One promising strategy is to explore environments where survival is challenging. These harsh environments are hypothesized to lead to bacteria developing chemical adaptations (e.g. natural products) to enable their survival. This investigation focuses on ore-forming environments, particularly fluoride mines, which typically have extreme pH, salinity and nutrient scarcity. Herein, we have utilized metagenomics, metabolomics and evolutionary genome mining to dissect the biodiversity and metabolism in these harsh environments. This work has unveiled the promising biosynthetic potential of these bacteria and has demonstrated their ability to produce bioactive secondary metabolites. This research constitutes a pioneering endeavour in bioprospection within fluoride mining regions, providing insights into uncharted microbial ecosystems and their previously unexplored natural products.

Expression in CHO cells of a bacterial biosynthetic pathway producing a small non-ribosomal peptide aldehyde prevents proteolysis of recombinant proteins

A significant problem during recombinant protein production is proteolysis. One of the most common preventive strategies is the addition of protease inhibitors, which has drawbacks, such as their short half-life and high cost, and their limited prevention of extracellular proteolysis. Actinomycetes produce the most commonly used inhibitors, which are non-ribosomal small aldehydic peptides. Previously, an unprecedented biosynthetic route involving a condensation-minus non-ribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPSs) and a tRNA utilizing enzyme (tRUE) was shown to direct the synthesis of one of these inhibitor peptides, livipeptin. Here, we show that expression of the livipeptin biosynthetic pathway encoded by the lvp genes in CHO cells resulted in the production of this metabolite with cysteine protease inhibitory activity, implying that mammalian tRNAs were recruited by the lvp system. CHO cells transiently expressing the biosynthetic pathway produced livipeptin without affecting cell growth or viability. Expression of the lvp system in CHO cells producing two model proteins, secreted alkaline phosphatase (hSeAP) and a monoclonal antibody, resulted in higher specific productivity with reduced proteolysis. We show for the first time that the expression of a bacterial biosynthetic pathway is functional in CHO cells, resulting in the efficient, low-cost synthesis of a protease inhibitor without adverse effects on CHO cells. This expands the field of metabolic engineering of mammalian cells by expressing the overwhelming diversity of actinomycetes biosynthetic pathways and opens a new option for proteolysis inhibition in bioprocess engineering.

Discovery of Streptomyces species CS-62, a novel producer of the Acinetobacter baumannii selective antibiotic factumycin

Narrow-spectrum antibiotics are of great interest given their ability to spare the microbiome and decrease widespread antibiotic resistance compared to broad-spectrum antibiotics. Herein, we screened an in-house library of Actinobacteria strains for selective activity against Acinetobacter baumannii and successfully identified Streptomyces sp. CS-62 as a producer of a natural product with this valuable activity. Analysis of the cultures via high-resolution mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry, followed by comparison with molecules in the Natural Product Atlas and the Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking platform, suggested a novel natural product. Genome mining analysis initially supported the production of a novel kirromycin derivative. Isolation and structure elucidation via mass spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analyses revealed that the active natural product was the known natural product factumycin, exposing omissions and errors in the consulted databases. While public databases are generally very useful for avoiding rediscovery of known molecules, rediscovery remains a problem due to public databases either being incomplete or having errors that result in failed dereplication. Overall, the work describes the ongoing problem of dereplication and the continued need for public database curation.

Accounting for the annual variability when assessing non-point source pollution potential in Mediterranean regulated watersheds

The characterization of non-point source pollution at the watershed scale difficult owing to its distributed nature combined with the lack of suitable measurements for validation. This study proposes the classification of land within a Mediterranean watershed according to its potential source of non-point pollution, considering interannual precipitation variability and dam regulation effects. For this purpose, the potential non-point pollution index (PNPI) developed by the Italian Environmental Protection Agency was modified to include annual local precipitation behavior, named local annual PNPI (APNPI). PNPI and APNPI were computed for the Guadalquivir River (Spain), which has a drainage surface of 57,500 km2 and is highly regulated by >60 reservoirs. The results reflect the vulnerability along the Guadalquivir River in terms of the spatially variable non-point pollutant nature of its contributing watersheds. The annual average nitrate concentration values on the southern side exceeded the average value on the northern side by almost five times and showed a statistically significant power fit with the PNPI, with an R2 of 0.65. Long-term available nitrate data (1981/82-2006/07) on a monthly scale at the outlets of some watersheds allowed us to rank priority pollutant source areas within the watershed. The power fits between the annual average nitrate loads and the APNPI (R2 = 0.51-0.99) were statistically significant, which validated the utility of adding the variability of precipitation at an annual scale as a dynamic factor in the index. The APNPI can constitute a simple dynamic classification index for assessing the relative risk of non-point source pollution across a large area, especially in data-scarce situations.

In vitro assessment of the combined effect of letermovir and sirolimus on cytomegalovirus replication

OBJECTIVE

Letermovir (LMV) is used for prophylaxis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation and end-organ disease in adult CMV-seropositive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients (allo-HSCT). In turn, sirolimus (SLM) which displays in vitro anti-CMV activity, is frequently employed for prophylaxis of Graft vs. Host disease in allo-HSCT. Here, we aimed at assessing whether LMV and SLM used in combination may act synergistically in vitro on inhibiting CMV replication.

METHODS

The antiviral activity of LMV and SLM alone or in combination was evaluated by a checkerboard assay, using ARPE-19 cells infected with CMV strain BADrUL131-Y. LMV and SLM were used at concentrations ranging from 24 nM to 0.38 nM and 16 nM to 0.06 nM, respectively.

RESULTS

The mean EC50 for LMV and SLM was 2.44 nM (95% CI, 1.66-3.60) and 1.40 nM (95% CI, 0.41-4.74), respective. LMV and SLM interaction yielded mainly additive effects over the range of concentrations tested.

CONCLUSIONS

The additive nature of the combination of LMV and SLM against CMV may have relevant clinical implications in management of CMV infection in allo-HSCT recipients undergoing prophylaxis with LMV.

Streptomyces lividans 66 produces a protease inhibitor via a tRNA-utilizing enzyme interacting with a C-minus NRPS

Small peptide aldehydes (SPAs) with protease inhibitory activity are naturally occurring compounds shown to be synthesized by non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS). SPAs are widely used in biotechnology and have been utilized as therapeutic agents. They are also physiologically relevant and have been postulated to regulate the development of their producing microorganisms. Previously, we identified an NRPS-like biosynthetic gene cluster (BGC) in Streptomyces lividans 66 that lacked a condensation (C) domain but included a tRNA-utilizing enzyme (tRUE) belonging to the leucyl/phenylalanyl (L/F) transferase family. This system was predicted to direct the synthesis of a novel SPA, which we named livipeptin. Using evolutionary genome mining approaches, here, we confirm the presence of L/F transferase tRUEs within the genomes of diverse Streptomyces and related organisms, including fusions with the anticipated C-minus NRPS-like protein. We then demonstrate genetic functional cooperation between the identified L/F-transferase divergent tRUE homolog with the C-minus NRPS, leading to the synthesis of a metabolic fraction with protease inhibitory activity. Semisynthetic assays in the presence of RNAse revealed that the productive interaction between the tRUE and the C-minus NRPS enzymes is indeed tRNA dependent. We expect our findings to boost the discovery of SPAs, as well as the development of protease-mediated biotechnologies, by exploiting the uncovered genetic basis for synthesizing putative acetyl-leu/phe-arginine protease inhibitors. Furthermore, these results will facilitate the purification and structural elucidation of livipeptin, which has proven difficult to chemically characterize.

SIGNIFICANCE

The discovery of natural products biosynthetic genes marks a significant advancement in our understanding of these metabolites, for example of their evolution, activity, and biosynthesis, but also opens biotechnological opportunities and knowledge to advance genome mining approaches. We made this possible by uncovering a new biosynthetic pathway in Streptomyces lividans 66 shown to direct the synthesis of a strong protease inhibitor, termed livipeptin, following unprecedented biosynthetic rules and genes. Thus, by shedding light on the genetic mechanisms predicted to govern the production of acetyl-leu/phe-arginine protease inhibitors, including the elusive livipeptin, this study enables novel protease-mediated biotechnologies as well as approaches for discovering protease inhibitors from genome data.

Simultaneous determination of 210Pb and 90Sr and 210Po isolation in sludge samples using a plastic scintillation resin

This study describes a new and fast method for separating ²¹⁰Po from ²¹⁰Pb and ⁹⁰Sr, before simultaneously measuring the individual activities of the latter two radionuclides using a plastic scintillation resin (PSresin) in sludge samples taken from a drinking water treatment plant. This method speeds up the analysis process significantly by simultaneously measuring ²¹⁰Pb and ⁹⁰Sr in a single step. The method is reproducible and has a relative standard deviation of less than 25% for ²¹⁰Pb, ²¹⁰Po and ⁹⁰Sr. The method was satisfactorily validated with an intercomparison sample and applied to sludge samples from a drinking water treatment plant. The minimum detectable activities for 0.9 g of sludge are 5.5 Bq/kg and 8 Bq/kg for ²¹⁰Pb and ⁹⁰Sr respectively when measured for 180 min, and 0.5 Bq/kg for ²¹⁰Po when measured for 5000 min.

MIBiG 3.0: a community-driven effort to annotate experimentally validated biosynthetic gene clusters

With an ever-increasing amount of (meta)genomic data being deposited in sequence databases, (meta)genome mining for natural product biosynthetic pathways occupies a critical role in the discovery of novel pharmaceutical drugs, crop protection agents and biomaterials. The genes that encode these pathways are often organised into biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs). In 2015, we defined the Minimum Information about a Biosynthetic Gene cluster (MIBiG): a standardised data format that describes the minimally required information to uniquely characterise a BGC. We simultaneously constructed an accompanying online database of BGCs, which has since been widely used by the community as a reference dataset for BGCs and was expanded to 2021 entries in 2019 (MIBiG 2.0). Here, we describe MIBiG 3.0, a database update comprising large-scale validation and re-annotation of existing entries and 661 new entries. Particular attention was paid to the annotation of compound structures and biological activities, as well as protein domain selectivities. Together, these new features keep the database up-to-date, and will provide new opportunities for the scientific community to use its freely available data, e.g. for the training of new machine learning models to predict sequence-structure-function relationships for diverse natural products. MIBiG 3.0 is accessible online at https://mibig.secondarymetabolites.org/.

Evolutionary Genome Mining for the Discovery and Engineering of Natural Product Biosynthesis

Genome mining has become an invaluable tool in natural products research to quickly identify and characterize the biosynthetic pathways that assemble secondary or specialized metabolites. Recently, evolutionary principles have been incorporated into genome mining strategies in an effort to better assess and prioritize novelty and understand their chemical diversification for engineering purposes. Here, we provide an introduction to the principles underlying evolutionary genome mining, including bioinformatic strategies and natural product biosynthetic databases. We introduce workflows for traditional genome mining, focusing on the popular pipeline antiSMASH, and methods to predict enzyme substrate specificity from genomic information. We then provide an in-depth discussion of evolutionary genome mining workflows, including EvoMining, CORASON, ARTS, and others, as adopted by our group for the discovery and prioritization of natural products biosynthetic gene clusters and their products.

Influence of high power ultrasound on natural microflora, pathogen and lactic acid bacteria in a raw meat emulsion

Raw meat emulsions may have natural, spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms due to the origin and characteristics of this food matrix. All of these microorganisms must be minimized during industrial processing to make food consumption safe and meet quality regulations. Therefore, in this research, the effect of probe ultrasound on the inactivation of three kinds of microorganisms in a raw meat emulsion is evaluated. The microorganisms are: natural microflora NAM, Listeria monocytogenes LIS, and Lactobacillus delbrueckii LAC. A high-intensity probe ultrasound system was used, during 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 min, with pulsed waves of 0.0, 10, 20 and 30 seg, and 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 W of power. The interrelation between time, wave pulse cycle, and power factors was assessed. The results showed a positive linear independence effect in the treatments without wave pulse for each microorganism, and a quadratic interaction with the time and the ultrasound power for the inactivation of the three kinds of microorganisms. Besides, the desirability function for the inactivation reached up to 60% of the microbial population with the probe ultrasound treatment, with 10 min, a 7.56 s wave pulse and 400 W of power. Thus, these results could be useful to decide the incorporation of mild and emerging technologies in a meat industry line process.

Microelimination or Not? The Changing Epidemiology of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Hepatitis C Virus Coinfection in France 2012–2018

Background

The arrival of highly effective, well-tolerated, direct-acting antiviral agents (DAA) led to a dramatic decrease in hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-HCV–coinfected patients are deemed a priority population for HCV elimination, while a rise in recently acquired HCV infections in men who have sex with men (MSM) has been described. We describe the variations in HIV-HCV epidemiology in the French Dat’AIDS cohort.

Methods

This was a retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort of persons living with HIV (PLWH) from 2012 to 2018. We determined HCV prevalence, HCV incidence, proportion of viremic patients, treatment uptake, and mortality rate in the full cohort and by HIV risk factors.

Results

From 2012 to 2018, 50 861 PLWH with a known HCV status were followed up. During the period, HCV prevalence decreased from 15.4% to 13.5%. HCV prevalence among new HIV cases increased from 1.9% to 3.5% in MSM but remained stable in other groups. Recently acquired HCV incidence increased from 0.36/100 person-years to 1.25/100 person-years in MSM. The proportion of viremic patients decreased from 67.0% to 8.9%. MSM became the first group of viremic patients in 2018 (37.9%). Recently acquired hepatitis represented 59.2% of viremic MSM in 2018. DAA treatment uptake increased from 11.4% to 61.5%. More treatments were initiated in MSM in 2018 (41.2%) than in intravenous drug users (35.6%). In MSM, treatment at the acute phase represented 30.0% of treatments in 2018.

Conclusions

A major shift in HCV epidemiology was observed in PLWH in France from 2012 to 2018, leading to a unique situation in which the major group of HCV transmission in 2018 was MSM.

Clinical Trials Registration. NCT02898987.

Revisión taxonómica de la rana marsupial Gastrotheca peruana (Amphibia: Hemiphractidae) en base al gen mitocondrial 16S

Se revisa el estado taxonómico de Gastrotheca peruana usando métodos filogenéticos en base a secuencias de 16S rRNA. Los árboles de máxima verosimilitud y Bayesiano mostraron que las variantes génicas de G. peruana forman dos clados que no son hermanos. Uno de estos clados se distribuye en el norte de Perú, incluyendo un individuo procedente de la localidad típica de G. peruana dissimilis. El segundo clado está restringido al centro de Perú y contiene individuos de las localidades tipo de dos formas nominales, G. p. peruana y G. p. junensis, y es hermano de G. aratia. De esta forma, reconocemos dos especies dentro de lo que actualmente se conoce como G. peruana. Restringimos Gastrotheca peruana a las poblaciones del centro de Perú (departamentos de Ancash, Lima, Pasco y Junín) y asignamos Gastrotheca dissimilis a las poblaciones de los departamentos de La Libertad y Cajamarca.

Descripción del renacuajo de Telmatobius brachydactylus (Anura: Telmatobiidae)

Se describe el renacuajo de Telmatobius brachydactylus desde el estadio 30 al 41 de Gosner. El renacuajo de T. brachydactylus es similar a las otras larvas de Telmatobius con morfología de tipo poza, pero se diferencia de la especie simpátrica, Telmatobius macrostomus, por tener la cola más larga en relación al cuerpo y una longitud total significativamente menor entre los estadios 33 y 41 de Gosner. Registramos por primera vez renacuajos de T. macrostomus y T. brachydactylus en sintopía.

Occurrence of and radioanalytical methods used to determine medical radionuclides in environmental and biological samples. A review

Medical radionuclides are widely used in nuclear medicine practices today. Their production, handling and administration have different impacts on the environment and society due to the radioactive waste generated. Over recent years authors have taken an interest in the monitoring and safe disposal of this radiopharmaceutical waste, mainly in environmental and biological samples, and consequently a variety of radioanalytical methods for these matrices have been developed. The present review aims to outline the state of the art and the latest trends reported in the literature from 2007 to the present, focusing on the occurrence and determination of medical radionuclides in environmental and biological samples. Special attention is given to critically discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the different steps involved in determining medical radionuclides in these types of matrices. The methodologies presented are accompanied by examples.

Nuclear medicine: workplace monitoring and internal occupational exposure during a ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission tomography

The administration of ^99mTc-HDP to diagnose pulmonary thromboembolisms leads to the presence of ^99mTc in the environment of a nuclear medicine department, which could pose a potential risk of internal contamination to medical staff. Therefore, air samples from the administration room, gamma camera room and corridor of such a department were taken for the purpose of performing a workplace monitoring program of the medical centre under study, with maximum activity values of 640 ± 30 kBq/m³, 1.5 ± 0.1 kBq/m³ and 54 ± 3 kBq/m³, respectively, being obtained. These results correspond to committed effective doses received by exposed employees, via inhalation, when one ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission tomography study was performed, of 0.7 μSv, 0.004 μSv and 0.2 μSv, respectively. As inhalation is the employees' main exposure pathway to radio-aerosols, the internal dose of the nuclear medicine department's medical staff was also evaluated via urine bioassay measurements. Nuclear medicine nurses showed the highest ^99mTc activity in 24-h urine samples (2100 ± 130 Bq/day), resulting in a committed effective dose of 21 μSv for each diagnostic study performed. Even so, the performance of ventilation/perfusion diagnostic studies did not constitute a substantial radiological risk since the annual dose limit for exposed employees was not exceeded.

EvoMining reveals the origin and fate of natural product biosynthetic enzymes

Natural products (NPs), or specialized metabolites, are important for medicine and agriculture alike, and for the fitness of the organisms that produce them. NP genome-mining aims at extracting biosynthetic information from the genomes of microbes presumed to produce these compounds. Typically, canonical enzyme sequences from known biosynthetic systems are identified after sequence similarity searches. Despite this being an efficient process, the likelihood of identifying truly novel systems by this approach is low. To overcome this limitation, we previously introduced EvoMining, a genome-mining approach that incorporates evolutionary principles. Here, we release and use our latest EvoMining version, which includes novel visualization features and customizable databases, to analyse 42 central metabolic enzyme families (EFs) conserved throughout Actinobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Pseudomonas and Archaea. We found that expansion-and-recruitment profiles of these 42 families are lineage specific, opening the metabolic space related to ‘shell’ enzymes. These enzymes, which have been overlooked, are EFs with orthologues present in most of the genomes of a taxonomic group, but not in all. As a case study of canonical shell enzymes, we characterized the expansion and recruitment of glutamate dehydrogenase and acetolactate synthase into scytonemin biosynthesis, and into other central metabolic pathways driving Archaea and Bacteria adaptive evolution. By defining the origin and fate of enzymes, EvoMining complements traditional genome-mining approaches as an unbiased strategy and opens the door to gaining insights into the evolution of NP biosynthesis. We anticipate that EvoMining will be broadly used for evolutionary studies, and for generating predictions of unprecedented chemical scaffolds and new antibiotics. This article contains data hosted by Microreact.

Implementing a Memory Clinic Model to Facilitate Recruitment into Early Phase Clinical Trials for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease

BACKGROUND

The recruitment challenges for MCI and AD subjects into clinical trials are well known, and this is particularly true for early phase studies. Currently, only 10-20% of all patients who are referred for research from the community are trial eligible (Grill and Karlawish, 2011). Due to the limited and specific study objectives in early phase study designs, these rates drop to approximately one patient every two months. Barriers to research recruitment are multi-factorial, involving patient centered factors, issues related to caregiver/study partner participation, and aspects related to the involvement of their treating physicians. To address this challenge, we implemented a Memory Clinic within PAREXEL's Early Phase Clinical Pharmacology Unit. Our objective was to significantly facilitate recruitment into AD clinical trials by providing resources and education to patients, their treating physicians, and caregivers in the community.

METHOD

The Clinic's primary goals were to increase research visibility and partnerships with local organizations and referring physicians. Members of the research team co-sponsored community outreach events with local organizations, thereby increasing awareness about the services of this memory clinic. Secondly, physician outreach was expanded to include those who were not previously amenable to clinical trial referrals. Finally, Memory Clinic patients were given clinical evaluations, free of charge and the results were discussed with the patients and their caregivers. If the patients were interested in hearing more about possible research opportunities, they were referred to the early phase unit for a screening visit.

RESULTS

We found that new referrals for research participation significantly increased as a result of this new paradigm. In 2016, 12 patients diagnosed with MCI or AD per protocol, were referred to a research study and 3 were randomized. In 2017, 98 patients were referred and 16 were enrolled In addition, our referral network increased with 30 physicians over a 20 mile radius. Collaborations with national non-profit organizations also increased, thereby increasing public awareness about the importance of research participation in the development of new treatments for Alzheimer's Disease.

CONCLUSIONS

In summary, community engagement and providing referring physicians with a clinical service improved recruitment significantly for our phase 1 unit. Resource education, staff training, and dedicated medical professionals can significantly improve awareness about clinical research participation and provide additional participants over and above traditional recruitment methods and trial registry enrollment in a large urban area.

Presence of artificial radionuclides in samples from potable water and wastewater treatment plants

Human activity, such as the operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) and the use of radionuclides in nuclear medicine, results in the presence of artificial radionuclides in surface waters, which may even reach potable water treatment plants (PWTPs) and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). In this study, water and sludge samples from a PWTP are radiologically monitored. The incoming water of the plant is influenced by the presence of an NPP upstream. Two WWTPs receiving wastewater from medical centres and other origins are also studied. As a result, ¹³¹I, ⁶⁰Co and ¹³⁷Cs have been determined in the dewatered sludge samples from the PWTP, while ¹³¹I, ^99mTc, ⁶⁷Ga and ¹¹¹In were detected in the sludge samples from the WWTPs. The radionuclide activities in the influent water from the WWTPs studied were lower than the minimum detectable activity values. Therefore, on the basis of our results, the analysis of sludge samples is very useful as it enables the concentration of any radionuclides that may be present in the incoming water. Lastly, as higher activity of ¹³¹I was detected in the samples studied, the total effective dose was assessed for WWTP workers, as they handle dewatered sludge containing this radionuclide. It can be concluded that there is no risk in terms of total exposure.

Analysis of differentially upregulated proteins in ptsHIcrr- and rppH- mutants in Escherichia coli during an adaptive laboratory evolution experiment

The previous deletion of the cytoplasmic components of the phosphotransferase system (PTS) in Escherichia coli JM101 resulted in the PTS^- derivative strain PB11 with severely impaired growth capability in glucose as the sole carbon source. Previous adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiment led to select a fast-growing strain named PB12 from PB11. Comparative genome analysis of PB12 showed a chromosomal deletion, which result in the loss of several genes including rppH which codes for the RNA pyrophosphohydrolase RppH, involved in the preparation of hundreds of mRNAs for further degradation by RNase E. Previous inactivation of rppH in PB11 (PB11rppH^-) improved significantly its growing capabilities and increased several mRNAs respect its parental strain PB11. These previous results led to propose to the PB11rppH^- mutant as an intermediate between PB11 and PB12 strains merged during the early ALE experiment. In this contribution, we report the metabolic response to the PTS^- and rppH^- mutations in the deep of a proteomic approach to understanding the relevance of rppH^- phenotype during an ALE experiment. Differentially upregulated proteins between the wild-type JM101/PB11, PB11/PB11rppH^-, and PB11/PB12 comparisons led to identifying 45 proteins between strain comparisons. Downregulated or upregulated proteins in PB11rppH^- were found expressed at an intermediate level with respect to PB11 and PB12. Many of these proteins were found involved in non-previously metabolic traits reported in the study of the PTS^- strains, including glucose, amino acids, ribose transport; amino acid biosynthesis; NAD biosynthesis/salvage pathway, biosynthesis of Ac-CoA precursors; detoxification and degradation pathways; stress response; protein synthesis; and possible mutator activities between comparisons. No changes were found in the expression of galactose permease GalP, previously proposed as the primary glucose transporter in the absence of PTS selected by the PTS^- derivatives during the ALE experiment. This result suggests that the evolving PTS^- population selected other transporters such as LamB, MglB, and ManX instead of GalP for glucose uptake during the early ALE experiment. Analysis of the biological relevance of the metabolic traits developed by the studied strains provided valuable information to understand the relevance of the rppH^- mutation in the PTS^- background during an ALE experiment as a strategy for the selection of valuable phenotypes for metabolic engineering purposes.

Direct-acting antiviral treatment against hepatitis C virus infection in HIV-Infected patients - "En route for eradication"?

OBJECTIVES

Direct-Acting Antivirals (DAAs) opened a new era in HCV treatment. We report the impact of HCV treatment in French HIV-HCV coinfected patients.

METHODS

All HIV-HCV patients from the Dat'AIDS cohort followed between 2012 and 2015 were included. HCV status was defined yearly as naive, spontaneous cure, sustained virological response (SVR12), failure or reinfection.

RESULTS

Among 32,945 HIV-infected patients, 15.2% were positive for anti-HCV antibodies. From 2012 to 2015, HCV incidence rate increased from 0.35%PY to 0.69%PY in MSM, while median incidence was 0.08%PY in other patients. Median reinfection rate was 2.56%PY in MSM and 0.22%PY in other patients. HCV treatment initiation rate rose from 8.2% in 2012 to 29.6% (48.0% in pre-treated patients vs 22.6% in naïve patients). SVR12 rate increased from 68.7% to 95.2%. By the end of 2015, 62.7% of the patients were cured either spontaneously or following SVR.

CONCLUSIONS

HCV treatment dramatically increased in HIV-HCV patients in France from 2012 to 2015 resulting in HCV cure in nearly two-thirds of the patients in this cohort. Combined with a declining HCV prevalence, the prevalence of active HCV infection among HIV patients will drastically decrease in the forthcoming years.

Posttraumatic growth and well-being among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer: a longitudinal study

PURPOSE

This study examines posttraumatic growth (PTG) among adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer, as well as its correlates and trajectories over time. The study also explores the buffering role of PTG on the associations between posttraumatic stress (PTS), health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and psychological distress.

METHODS

A multicenter, longitudinal, prospective study was conducted among AYA cancer patients aged 14-39 years. One hundred sixty-nine patients completed a self-report measure of PTG (PTGI) and PTS (PDS) 6, 12, and 24 months after baseline (within the first 4 months of diagnosis). At 24-month follow-up, HRQoL (SF-36) and psychological distress (BSI-18) were also assessed.

RESULTS

Among participants, 14% showed increasing PTG, 45% remained at a stable high PTG level, 14% showed decreasing PTG, and 27% remained at a stable low PTG level. AYAs who remained high on PTG were more often younger, female, and received chemotherapy. PTG level at 6-month follow-up was predictive of mental HRQoL (β = 0.19; p = 0.026) and psychological distress (β = -0.14; p = 0.043) at 24-month follow-up when corrected for PTS and sociodemographic and clinical covariates. No relationship between PTG and physical HRQoL was found. The interactive effects of PTS and PTG on outcomes were not significant, indicating that buffering did not take place.

CONCLUSION

This study indicates that PTG is dynamic and predicts mental well-being outcomes but does not buffer the effects of PTS. Psychosocial interventions should focus on promoting PTG and reducing PTS in order to promote the adjustment of AYAs diagnosed with cancer.

Next Generation Flow for highly sensitive and standardized detection of minimal residual disease in multiple myeloma

Flow cytometry has become a highly valuable method to monitor minimal residual disease (MRD) and evaluate the depth of complete response (CR) in bone marrow (BM) of multiple myeloma (MM) after therapy. However, current flow-MRD has lower sensitivity than molecular methods and lacks standardization. Here we report on a novel next generation flow (NGF) approach for highly sensitive and standardized MRD detection in MM. An optimized 2-tube 8-color antibody panel was constructed in five cycles of design-evaluation-redesign. In addition, a bulk-lysis procedure was established for acquisition of ⩾10⁷ cells/sample, and novel software tools were constructed for automatic plasma cell gating. Multicenter evaluation of 110 follow-up BM from MM patients in very good partial response (VGPR) or CR showed a higher sensitivity for NGF-MRD vs conventional 8-color flow-MRD -MRD-positive rate of 47 vs 34% (P=0.003)-. Thus, 25% of patients classified as MRD-negative by conventional 8-color flow were MRD-positive by NGF, translating into a significantly longer progression-free survival for MRD-negative vs MRD-positive CR patients by NGF (75% progression-free survival not reached vs 7 months; P=0.02). This study establishes EuroFlow-based NGF as a highly sensitive, fully standardized approach for MRD detection in MM which overcomes the major limitations of conventional flow-MRD methods and is ready for implementation in routine diagnostics.

Sistemas de producción de carne bovina en el sur de Chile: Tipología y evolución entre 1997 y 2007

Los sistemas de producción de carne bovina en una de las principales zonas ganaderas del Sur de Chile son identificados y caracterizados tomando como base de agrupación las combinaciones de aprovechamientos de especies vegetales. El objetivo del trabajo fue identificar, caracterizar y describir la evolución de sistemas de producción bovinos de carne en la región de la Araucanía y determinar su relación con la utilización de instrumentos de fomento agropecuario tanto públicos como privados. Datos obtenidos desde dos Censos agropecuarios (INE 1997, 2007) se utilizaron como variables de caracterización, permitiendo junto con la diferenciación de grupos, identificar relaciones de dependencia entre grupo, tamaño de hato, aspectos sociales y programas de fomento agropecuario. Los aprovechamientos con mayor presencia correspondieron a praderas naturales, praderas mejoradas, forrajeras perennes, especies forestales, cereales y forrajeras anuales. Tres combinaciones de aprovechamientos fueron seleccionadas por representar al total de explotaciones de la región. Se observaron diferencias significativas en variables cuantitativas y cualitativas entre grupos y años evaluados (P≤0.01).

Bioaccumulation of natural radionuclides in molluscs from the Ebro Delta area

²¹⁰Po, ²¹⁰Pb, ²³⁴U, ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ²³⁰Th were analysed in the edible part of four different species of bivalves typically produced and consumed in the Ebro Delta area. The results show that the main contributor to the radioactive content in these species was ²¹⁰Po, with values ranging between 263.1 ± 26.6 and 813.0 ± 72.9 Bq/kg (d.w.), which are higher than the usual reported activity levels in other geographical areas. This can probably be attributed to the activities of a phosphate industrial plant located upstream on the Ebro River, which may lead to enhanced levels of naturally occurring radioactive isotopes in the aquatic ecosystem. To determine the possible impact on health, the committed effective doses through the consumption of the different species were evaluated and the cumulative total annual effective dose for their consumption was estimated to 187.6 μSv/year, which is in the range of 200-1000 μSv/year given by UNSCEAR.

Taxonomy, phylogeny, and distribution of Bronchocela rayaensis (Squamata: Agamidae) on the Thai-Malay Peninsula

An integrative taxonomic analysis used to identify a new population of Bronchocela from Phuket Island, Thailand indicates it is conspecific with B. rayaensis from the Langkawi Archipelago of northwestern Peninsular Malaysia. An additional specimen photographed from Khura Buri District, Phang-nga Province is also considered to be B. rayaensis and represents a northern range extension of 295 km from the Langkawi Archipelago.

Rapid Prototyping of a Smart Device-based Wireless Reflectance Photoplethysmograph

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a wireless heart rate (HR) monitoring device based on photoplethysmography (PPG) and smart devices. PPG sensors use infrared (IR) light to obtain vital information to assess cardiac health and other physiologic conditions. The PPG data that are transferred to a computer undergo further processing to derive the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) signal, which is analyzed to generate quantitative markers of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The HRV signal has numerous monitoring and diagnostic applications. To this end, wireless connectivity plays an important role in such biomedical instruments. The photoplethysmograph consists of an optical sensor to detect the changes in the light intensity reflected from the illuminated tissue, a signal conditioning unit to prepare the reflected light for further signal conditioning through amplification and filtering, a low-power microcontroller to control and digitize the analog PPG signal, and a Bluetooth module to transmit the digital data to a Bluetooth-based smart device such as a tablet. An Android app is then used to enable the smart device to acquire and digitally display the received analog PPG signal in real-time on the smart device. This article is concluded with the prototyping of the wireless PPG followed by the verification procedures of the PPG and HRV signals acquired in a laboratory environment.

Pregnancy rate in dairy cows treated with progesterone for six days during estrus synchronization with PGF2α

The present study evaluated the effect of progesterone supplementation during a double PGF2α injection synchronization protocol on pregnancy per artificial insemination (P/AI) and on the incidence of twin births. Seven hundred and eighty three dairy cows were synchronized with two injections of PGF2α 14 days apart, starting on day 35 postpartum for their first postpartum insemination. Six days before the second PGF2α injection, cows were treated either with a progesterone-releasing intravaginal device (PRID-Delta) and an intramuscular injection of 500mg of progesterone (n=387) or served as control (n=396) and did not receive progesterone treatment. Cows were inseminated 12h after being detected in estrus. Pregnancy was diagnosed 40-45 days later by transrectal palpation. Progesterone administration improved (P<0.05) the percentage of cows detected in estrus in multiparous [(192/255) 75% vs (161/267) 60%], but not in primiparous cows [93/132 (70%) vs 90/129 (70%)]. Progesterone treatment increased P/AI in multiparous [53/192 (28%) vs 27/161 (17%)] but not in primiparous cows [25/93 (27%) vs 29/90 (32%)]. The incidence of twin births tended to be lower (P=0.09) in cows treated with progesterone [1/74 (1%)] than in the control group [4/53 (7%)]. It is concluded that progesterone administration during estrus synchronization with two PGF2α injections in dairy cows improves estral response and increases P/AI in multiparous, but not in primiparous cows, and tended to decrease the incidence of twin births.

Respiratory tract infection caused by Mycobacterium bovis in a black swan (Cygnus atratus)

A 3-year-old male black swan (Cygnus atratus), belonging to a private collection, died suddenly and was subjected to post mortem examination. At necropsy, caseous exudate was observed in the lungs and air sacs; granulomatous lesions characterized by epithelioid macrophages and abundant mycobacteria were observed microscopically. Avian tuberculosis associated with Mycobacterium bovis was confirmed by bacteriologic isolation, biochemical tests and molecular methods. The organism was identified as spoligotype SB0140, which is frequently found in cattle and people in North America. In this case, interspecies transmission could have been the source of infection because the swan cohabited with cattle.

Radon in spring waters in the south of Catalonia

Spring waters in the south of Catalonia were analysed to determine the (222)Rn activity in order to be able to establish a correlation between the obtained values with the geology of the area of origin of these samples, and also estimate the potential health risks associated with (222)Rn. Most of the analysed samples (90%) show (222)Rn activities lower than 100Bq/L (exposure limit in water recommended by the World Health Organisation and EU directive 2013/51/EURATOM). However, in some cases, the activity values found for this isotope exceeded those levels and this can be attributed to the geology of the area where the spring waters are located, which is predominantly of granitic characteristics. To verify the origin of the radon present in the analysed samples, the obtained activity values were compared with the activities of its parents ((226)Ra, (238)U and (234)U). Finally, we have calculated the annual effective dose from all the radionuclides measured in spring water samples. The results showed that the higher contribution due to spring water ingestion come from (222)Rn and (226)Ra. The resulting contribution to the annual effective dose due to radon ingestion varies between 10.2 and 765.8 μSv/y, and the total annual effective dose due to his parents, (226)Ra, (234)U and (238)U varies between 0.8 and 21.2 μSv/y so the consumption of these waters does not involve any risks to population due to its natural radioactivity content.

Deletion of the 2-acyl-glycerophosphoethanolamine cycle improve glucose metabolism in Escherichia coli strains employed for overproduction of aromatic compounds

BACKGROUND

As a metabolic engineering tool, an adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) experiment was performed to increase the specific growth rate (µ) in an Escherichia coli strain lacking PTS, originally engineered to increase the availability of intracellular phosphoenolpyruvate and redirect to the aromatic biosynthesis pathway. As result, several evolved strains increased their growth fitness on glucose as the only carbon source. Two of these clones isolated at 120 and 200 h during the experiment, increased their μ by 338 and 373 %, respectively, compared to the predecessor PB11 strain. The genome sequence and analysis of the genetic changes of these two strains (PB12 and PB13) allowed for the identification of a novel strategy to enhance carbon utilization to overcome the absence of the major glucose transport system.

RESULTS

Genome sequencing data of evolved strains revealed the deletion of chromosomal region of 10,328 pb and two punctual non-synonymous mutations in the dhaM and glpT genes, which occurred prior to their divergence during the early stages of the evolutionary process. Deleted genes related to increased fitness in the evolved strains are rppH, aas, lplT and galR. Furthermore, the loss of mutH, which was also lost during the deletion event, caused a 200-fold increase in the mutation rate.

CONCLUSIONS

During the ALE experiment, both PB12 and PB13 strains lost the galR and rppH genes, allowing the utilization of an alternative glucose transport system and allowed enhanced mRNA half-life of many genes involved in the glycolytic pathway resulting in an increment in the μ of these derivatives. Finally, we demonstrated the deletion of the aas-lplT operon, which codes for the main components of the phosphatidylethanolamine turnover metabolism increased the further fitness and glucose uptake in these evolved strains by stimulating the phospholipid degradation pathway. This is an alternative mechanism to its regeneration from 2-acyl-glycerophosphoethanolamine, whose utilization improved carbon metabolism likely by the elimination of a futile cycle under certain metabolic conditions. The origin and widespread occurrence of a mutated population during the ALE indicates a strong stress condition present in strains lacking PTS and the plasticity of this bacterium that allows it to overcome hostile conditions.

Polonium-210 levels in different environmental samples

Polonium-210 is analysed in different samples which can be affected by the presence of a dicalcium phosphate plant (DCP). Particularly, it was determined in sludge samples from a drinking water treatment plant located downstream of the phosphate plant. From the obtained results, it was not possible to establish a correlation with the industrial activities carried out in the DCP plant since the measured activities were comparable to the reported in the literature for normal soils. This isotope was also monitored in different biota species (as mussels) taken also downstream of the DCP, and the potential risk of their ingestion by calculating the total effective doses was evaluated. As a result, it is important to highlight that the ingestion of these mussels does not constitute a risk for the population since the found doses were lower than the values published by UNSCEAR.