Association of non-HDL cholesterol with plaque burden and composition of culprit lesion in acute coronary syndrome. An intravascular ultrasound-virtual histology study.

OBJECTIVE: Lipids play key role in coronary atherosclerosis. The role of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) in atherosclerotic plaques using intravascular imaging remains unclear. This study aimed to assess its relationship with coronary plaque features using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: A total of 601 patients divided into two groups: normal non-HDL-C≤130 mg/dl (n = 410) and high non-HDL cholesterol >130 mg/dl (n = 191). IVUS performed before coronary intervention. RESULTS: Mean age 53.18 ± 12.29 years. No significant differences in hypertension, diabetes, and smoking between groups. Plaque burden was significantly higher among normal versus high non-HDL-C groups (79.59 ± 9.98 % vs. 81.61 ± 5.39 %; p = 0.001). At minimal luminal site, fibrofatty percentage was higher in normal non-HDL-C group (p = 0.027), while necrotic core greater in high non-HDL-C group (p = 0.033). Segmental analysis, necrotic core was significantly higher in percentage (p = 0.006) and volumes (p = 0.011) in normal versus high non-HDL-C groups. Total cholesterol (r = 0.099, p = 0.015), LDL-C (r = 0.081, p = 0.046), triglycerides (r = 0.083, p = 0.041),and non-HDL-C (r = 0.099, p = 0.015) positively correlated with plaque burden. Total cholesterol (r = 0.115, p = 0.005), LDL-C (r = 0.107, p = 0.009), and non-HDL-C (r = 0.105, p = 0.010) positively correlated with necrotic core volume. Linear regression analysis showed age and non-HDL-C as predictors of higher plaque burden. Multiple linear regression analysis; age, body mass index, and non-HDL-C were predictors of larger necrotic core volume. CONCLUSION: Non-HDL-C levels were positively associated with plaque burden, measure of extent of atherosclerosis. It is closely associated with and is a predictor of necrotic core volume; a marker of plaque vulnerability. This IVUS study demonstrates potential role of non-HDL-C in causation of plaque in ACS.

Concomitant Boost With Six Fractions of Radiation a Week in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Prospective Study.

Background and objective Radiation therapy plays a significant role in the radical treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancers. Studies have shown the radiobiological advantage of accelerated chemoradiation over conventional chemoradiation as it reduces the chances of accelerated repopulation and decreases overall treatment time. This study aimed to assess the response and toxicities of accelerated concomitant chemoradiation in locally advanced head and neck cancer patients. Methods A total of 51 patients were enrolled and treated with accelerated concomitant chemoradiation, receiving one fraction of radiation per day, six fractions per week, with the sixth fraction as a boost on Saturdays, with weekly concurrent cisplatin at 40 mg/m2. Patients were followed up till six months after treatment completion. Radiological investigation was done to assess response according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.128, and acute toxicities were assessed according to Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) criteria. Results The median follow-up period was six months; 28 patients (62.22%) had a complete response and 17 (37.78%) had a partial response at six months post-completion of the treatment. The maximum acute toxicities developed at the completion of treatment. Grade III and IV mucositis developed in 14 patients (31.11%) and grade III dermatitis developed in one patient (2.22%), without any grade IV dermatitis during the total duration of treatment. The toxicities were manageable, and most of them resolved after three months of treatment completion. Conclusions Accelerated concomitant chemoradiation with six fractions of radiation in a week led to a decrease in overall treatment time. Of note, 62.22% of patients had complete remission, with manageable acute mucositis and dermatitis, which resolved in 82% and 67%, respectively within three months of treatment completion. However, further studies involving larger samples and longer follow-ups are needed for this regimen to be established as the standard of care in the future.

Enhanced osmotic dehydration of watermelon rind using honey-sucrose solutions: A study on pre-treatment efficacy and mass transfer kinetics.

This study investigates the osmotic dehydration process of watermelon rind using a solution composed of honey and sucrose. The impact of the ratio of rind-to-solution and temperature on the process is illustrated. Pre-treatments such as blanching, microwaves, and ultrasonication were utilized. Ultrasonication reduces the time needed for osmosis in a sample, resulting in increased fluid loss and solute uptake; therefore, it was selected as the method to investigate the kinetics and modelling of mass transfer. The effective diffusivities for water loss (ranging from 3.02 × 10-5 to 4.21 × 10-4 m2 s-1) and solid gain (ranging from 1.94 × 10-6 to 3.21 × 10-6 m2 s-1) were shown to increase with process variables such as temperature and the rind-to-solution ratio. The activation energy decreased as the process temperature increased, ranging from 3.723 to 0.928 kJ mol-1 for water loss and from 1.733 to 0.903 kJ mol-1 for solid gain, respectively. The sample treated with microwaves exhibited the maximum dehydration coefficient, rendering it appropriate for producing dehydrated products. Five empirical models were utilized, with the power law model (R 2 = 0.983) and the Magee model (R 2 = 0.950) being the most suitable for water loss data and solid gain, respectively.

Syphilis presenting as optic neuritis and subdural haematoma with complicating neuro Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction.

A man in his 50s presented with a 3-week history of painless blurry vision. The ocular examination showed decreased visual acuity and 3+ bilateral papilloedema. A CT of the brain without contrast revealed a 5 mm left subdural haematoma. Anti-treponemal IgG antibodies were positive, and a reflex rapid plasma regain (RPR) was >1:64. HIV serology was negative. Ophthalmology and infectious diseases agreed that the presentation was consistent with ocular syphilis. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination revealed an elevated CSF protein of 52 mg/dL and CSF Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) of 1:1. Penicillin was started. The patient developed a Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction soon after. He had a fever, rash and worsening headaches due to the enlargement of subdural haematoma for which he underwent a burr hole drainage. Vision improved after completing penicillin therapy but did not recover fully. The CSF VDRL became non-reactive and serum RPR titre decreased to 1:8 3 months later.

A systematic review and meta-analysis on effect of different exercise training on grip strength and upper extremity muscle strength in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are prone to musculoskeletal complications, particularly in the upper extremities (UE), which can significantly impair their grip strength and UE muscle strength. This review will provide valuable insights for developing optimized exercise interventions aimed at enhancing upper limb functionality and improving patient outcomes. AIM: To determine the effect of different exercise training on grip strength & UE muscle strength in patients suffering from T2DM. METHODOLOGY: A comprehensive search from electronic databases was performed based on the selection criteria and 13 randomized controlled trials (RCT's) were included in the study. Mean changes in grip strength and UE muscle strength were the primary outcome measures. Included studies ranked high on the PEDro rating scale and eta-analysis was performed by Rev Man 5.4 software. RESULTS: Meta-analysis results indicated that there was a statistically significant improvement in UE muscle strength of experimental group when compared to control group (mean differences [MD] = 2.91, 95% confidence interval = 0.12, 5.71; p = 0.04) with moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 49%, p < 0.07). Grip strength improved significantly in the experimental group when compared to the control group with (MD = 2.93, 95% CL = -0.00, 5.86; p = 0.05) and moderate heterogeneity (I2 = 66%, p < 0.08). CONCLUSION: This review indicated a positive role of supervised resistance & aerobic exercises on UE muscle strength in patients with T2DM. Due to lack of RCT's, grip strength needs to be explored by further investigations in these patients.

Pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer: an analysis of the Clinical Practice Research Datalink linked to the National Cancer Registration Dataset.

We quantified the proportion of diagnoses of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) among 25 136 people with lung cancer and 250 583 matched controls and compared the natural history of lung cancer in people with and without PF. Diagnoses of PF were more common in people with lung cancer than those without (1.5% vs 0.8%, OR 1.97; 95% CI 1.77 to 2.21). Within people with PF, squamous cell carcinoma was more (22.9% vs 19.1%), and adenocarcinoma was less common (18.0% vs 21.3%). People with PF were less likely to have stage 4 disease at diagnosis (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.65) but their survival was worse.

Waste bamboo-derived magnetically separable bamboo-activated carbon: from characterization to effective remediation of fluoride (F-) ions from water.

An effective and affordable nanoadsorbent, magnetically separable magnetite-activated bamboo carbon (MABC), was obtained from waste bamboo biomass via pyrolysis of bamboo chunks and the co-precipitation method using ferrous and ferric chloride as iron precursors. The synthesized nanosorbents were characterised using XRD, SEM, and DLS techniques to study the surface characteristics and morphology. Chemical composition, optical absorption, and magnetic properties were studied using FTIR spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and VSM, respectively. The BET surface area, porosity and surface charge were determined using N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm and zeta potential technique. The cytotoxicity and antimicrobial properties of BC, ABC and MABC were investigated against prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The result demonstrates the nontoxic nature of BC, ABC and MABC, indicating their significant potential for addressing water treatment using sustainable and eco-friendly nanosorbents. Comparative fluoride ion removal studies were performed using ABC and MABC NPs. About 99.6% of F- ions were adsorbed using MABC and 75.9% were adsorbed using ABC. Thus, MABC NPs were used as sorbents for the rest of the fluoride ion adsorption parameters. The batch fluoride ion sorption was performed at various sorption parameters, such as diverse solution pH (1.0-8.0), temperature (25-45 °C), agitation times (10-60 min), and adsorbent dose (0.01-0.04 g L-1). The pseudo-second-order kinetic model exhibited the best fit with F- ion adsorption (95.96 mg g-1) compared with the pseudo-first-order model (12.30 mg g-1), thereby indicating chemisorption adsorption. The exhausted MABC was recovered from the aqueous solution using a bar magnet. Regeneration studies of exhausted MABC were successfully performed using NaOH (0.1 M) as a desorbing agent.

The effects of experimental pain on episodic memory and its top-down modulation: a preregistered pooled analysis.

Introduction: Pain can automatically interfere with ongoing cognitive processes such as attention and memory. The extent of pain's negative effects on cognitive functioning seems to depend on a balance between top-down and bottom-up factors. Objectives: In this large, preregistered, pooled reanalysis of 8 studies, we investigated the robustness of the detrimental effect of acute pain on recognition memory and whether top-down mechanisms such as pain-related expectations or cognitions (pain-related fear, pain catastrophizing) modulate this effect. Methods: Two hundred forty-seven healthy participants underwent similar experimental paradigms, including a visual categorization task with images randomly paired with (or without) concomitant painful stimulation and a subsequent unannounced recognition task. Recognition memory (ie, d', recollection, and familiarity) and categorization performance (ie, reaction time, accuracy) served as proxies for the effect of pain on cognitive performance. Results: Acute painful stimulation significantly impaired recognition performance (d', familiarity). However, recognition performance was not significantly modulated by participants' expectations regarding the effect of pain on task performance or pain-related cognitions in this sample of healthy participants. Conclusion: Our results corroborate the negative effects of pain on (visual) memory encoding reported in previous studies and reports of "memory problems" from patients with chronic pain. To characterize the role of bottom-up and top-down factors for the detrimental effects of pain, large-scale studies with more nuanced study designs are necessary. Future studies in patient cohorts must unravel the interaction of maladaptive pain-related cognitions and the often-reported impaired cognitive performance in chronic pain patients.

The incidence of lung cancer amongst primary care chest radiograph referrals; an evaluation of national and local datasets within the UK.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of lung cancer amongst primary care referrals for investigation with a chest radiograph (CXR). METHOD: Retrospective evaluation of datasets from the national Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) and from a single large regional centre. Data was extracted for cohorts of consecutive adults aged over 40-yrs for whom a CXR had been performed between 2016 and 2018. Using cancer registry data, the incidence of lung cancer within a two-years of the CXR referral and the variations with age, gender and smoking status were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 291 294 CXR events were evaluated from the combined datasets. The incidence of lung cancer amongst GP CXR referrals was 1.4% in CPRD with a consistent correlation with increasing age and smoking status. The incidence of lung cancer within two-years of the CXR varied between 0.03% (95%CI 0.0-0.1) amongst never smokers aged 40-45 years to 4.8% (95%CI 4.2-5.5) amongst current-smokers aged 70-75 years. The findings were similar for the single large centre data, although cancer incidence was higher. CONCLUSIONS: A simple estimation and stratification of the risk of lung cancer amongst primary care referrals for investigation with a CXR is possible using age and smoking status. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This is the first estimate of the incidence of lung cancer amongst primary care CXR referrals and a demonstration of how the demographic information contained within a request could be used to optimise investigations and interpret test results.

A systematic literature analysis of multi-organ cancer diagnosis using deep learning techniques.

Cancer is becoming the most toxic ailment identified among individuals worldwide. The mortality rate has been increasing rapidly every year, which causes progression in the various diagnostic technologies to handle this illness. The manual procedure for segmentation and classification with a large set of data modalities can be a challenging task. Therefore, a crucial requirement is to significantly develop the computer-assisted diagnostic system intended for the initial cancer identification. This article offers a systematic review of Deep Learning approaches using various image modalities to detect multi-organ cancers from 2012 to 2023. It emphasizes the detection of five supreme predominant tumors, i.e., breast, brain, lung, skin, and liver. Extensive review has been carried out by collecting research and conference articles and book chapters from reputed international databases, i.e., Springer Link, IEEE Xplore, Science Direct, PubMed, and Wiley that fulfill the criteria for quality evaluation. This systematic review summarizes the overview of convolutional neural network model architectures and datasets used for identifying and classifying the diverse categories of cancer. This study accomplishes an inclusive idea of ensemble deep learning models that have achieved better evaluation results for classifying the different images into cancer or healthy cases. This paper will provide a broad understanding to the research scientists within the domain of medical imaging procedures of which deep learning technique perform best over which type of dataset, extraction of features, different confrontations, and their anticipated solutions for the complex problems. Lastly, some challenges and issues which control the health emergency have been discussed.

Favorable clinical outcomes and anti-mycobacterial efficacy of pretomanid in patients with highly resistant tuberculosis: A review.

Rising cases of drug resistance of mycobacterium species are one of the biggest concerns when the goal is to eradicate TB (Tuberculosis) from the world by the year 2030. A limited number of treatment options as MTB (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) is getting resistant to anti-mycobacterial drugs either due to a patient's non-compliance towards treatment regimen or if a patient is infected by drug-resistant species of MTB. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of pretomanid, a recently approved drug for the treatment of extensively drug-resistant TB. A thorough search of databases like PubMed, Cochrane library, CDC, Research Gate, and Google scholar was used in order to find case reports and clinical trials providing data on the efficacy of pretomanid in different drug regimens. According to research trials conducted, the drug appears to be efficacious, safe, and well-tolerable. Only headache was the most frequently observed adverse drug event, and a high dose-related increase in serum creatinine level was seen, which came to normal after the drug was discontinued.

Quantitative proteomics reveals serum proteome alterations during metastatic disease progression in breast cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Tumor recurrence and metastatic progression remains the leading cause for breast cancer related mortalities. However, the proteomes of patient- matched primary breast cancer (BC) and metastatic lesions have not yet been identified, due to the lack of clinically annotated longitudinal samples. In this study, we evaluated the global-proteomic landscape of BC patients with and without distant metastasis as well as compared the proteome of distant metastatic disease with its corresponding primary BC, within the same patient. METHODS: We performed mass spectrometry-based proteome profiling of 73 serum samples from 51 BC patients. Among the 51 patients with BC, 29 remained metastasis-free (henceforth called non-progressors), and 22 developed metastases (henceforth called progressors). For the 22 progressors, we obtained two samples: one collected within a year of diagnosis, and the other collected within a year before the diagnosis of metastatic disease. MS data were analyzed using intensity-based absolute quantification and normalized before differential expression analysis. Significantly differentially expressed proteins (DEPs; absolute fold-change ≥ 1.5, P-value < 0.05 and 30% abundance per clinical group) were subjected to pathway analyses. RESULTS: We identified 967 proteins among 73 serum samples from patients with BC. Among these, 39 proteins were altered in serum samples at diagnosis, between progressors and non-progressors. Among these, 4 proteins were further altered when the progressors developed distant metastasis. In addition, within progressors, 20 proteins were altered in serum collected at diagnosis versus at the onset of metastasis. Pathway analysis showed that these proteins encoded pathways that describe metastasis, including epithelial-mesenchymal transition and focal adhesion that are hallmarks of metastatic cascade. CONCLUSIONS: Our results highlight the importance of examining matched samples from distant metastasis with primary BC samples collected at diagnosis to unravel subset of proteins that could be involved in BC progression in serum. This study sets the foundation for additional future investigations that could position these proteins as non-invasive markers for clinically monitoring breast cancer progression in patients.

Extremophiles in Space Exploration.

In the era of deep space exploration, extremophile research represents a key area of research w.r.t space survival. This review thus delves into the intriguing realm of 'Space and Astro Microbiology', providing insights into microbial survival, resilience, and behavioral adaptations in space-like environments. This discussion encompasses the modified behavior of extremophilic microorganisms, influencing virulence, stress resistance, and gene expression. It then shifts to recent studies on the International Space Station and simulated microgravity, revealing microbial responses that impact drug susceptibility, antibiotic resistance, and its commercial implications. The review then transitions into Astro microbiology, exploring the possibilities of interplanetary transit, lithopanspermia, and terraforming. Debates on life's origin and recent Martian meteorite discoveries are noted. We also discuss Proactive Inoculation Protocols for selecting adaptable microorganisms as terraforming pioneers. The discussion concludes with a note on microbes' role as bioengineers in bioregenerative life support systems, in recycling organic waste for sustainable space travel; and in promoting optimal plant growth to prepare Martian and lunar basalt. This piece emphasizes the transformative impact of microbes on the future of space exploration.

Emergence of microgreens as a valuable food, current understanding of their market and consumer perception: A review.

Green leafy vegetables, especially microgreens are gaining popularity due to their high nutritional profiles, rich phytochemical content, and intense flavors. This review explores the growing commercial market for microgreens, especially in upscale dining and premium grocery outlets, highlighting consumer perceptions and their effect on market dynamics. Apart from these, the effect of modern agricultural methods that maximize the growth of microgreens is also examined. The value is anticipated to increase significantly, according to market predictions, from $1.7 billion in 2022 to $2.61 billion by 2029. Positive consumer views on microgreens health benefits drive this growth, although challenges such as varying levels of consumer awareness and income disparities affect sales. The review underscores the need for targeted research and strategic initiatives to enhance consumer understanding and improve cultivation methods to support market expansion in upcoming years.

An Exploratory-Descriptive Analysis of Training Programs for Leadership in Health Research and Services in India.

BACKGROUND: There are several leadership training programs for health researchers in India. However, there is a need to develop context-tailored leadership and mentoring approaches. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to critically analyze the available leadership training programs in India for health researchers and service providers, for the leadership domains incorporated and overall training approaches. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used an exploratory-descriptive design to identify and review leadership training programs for health researchers and service providers/managers that had been offered by Indian institutions between 2013 and 2018. Our analytic approach was based on "transformational leadership" and "leader-member exchange" theories of leadership, curricula of popular leadership training programs worldwide, and the International Clinical Epidemiology Network model for leadership in health research in India based on a nationwide primary study. RESULTS: We identified and reviewed 20 leadership training programs. These were heterogeneous in aim, scope (broad-based/thematic), course content, design, target participants and class profile, mode of delivery and training method, duration, frequency, and fund arrangements. The programs infrequently included topics on soft skills, mentoring, risk mitigation, collaboration for research, funding dynamics, institutional transformation, self-view and peer perception, and personal well-being. The programs insufficiently addressed contextual challenges of career exploration and risk mitigation, project management, strategic planning, and decision-making, ethics and integrity, negotiations, networking and collaboration, understanding funding dynamics, and mentoring. Only three programs linked to the training to the participants' ecosystem. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to develop customized course contents and training strategies that address the requirements of the local context vis-à-vis globally connected research ecosystems.

Polyols induce acute oxidative stress and mortality in Indian malaria vector Anopheles stephensi (Diptera: Culicidae): potential for use as sugar-cum-toxin source in toxic sugar baits.

BACKGROUND: Development of insecticide resistance in the major malaria vectors has necessitated the development of novel vector control tools. One such strategy involves the use of toxic sugar baits that targets the sugar-feeding behaviour of mosquito vectors. In this study, we investigated the potential of polyols, as a toxic food (sugar) source in toxic sugar baits against the malaria vector Anopheles stephensi Liston. We examined the acute toxicity of six polyols, namely, erythritol, glycerol, mannitol, propylene glycol (PG), sorbitol, and xylitol on adult female An. stephensi mosquitoes at two different concentrations - 2% and 10%. We also studied changes in fecundity, egg hatchability and mid-gut peroxide levels induced by polyol exposure. RESULTS: Among the six polyol compounds tested, PG was most toxic and lethal followed by glycerol and erythritol (P < 0.001) compared to the control (sucrose). PG induced acute mortality at different tested concentrations. In the erythritol- and glycerol-fed groups, a dose-dependent effect on mortality was observed. Glycerol evidently reduced fecundity and egg-hatchability in gonotrophic cycles G1 and G2. Sucrose was the preferred food source (48%), followed by erythritol (18%), PG (10%) and glycerol (8%). Ingestion of polyols increased peroxide levels in mosquito guts, which persisted for extended durations ultimately resulting in rapid mortality (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study highlights the usefulness of sugar polyols for the development of toxic sugar baits with minimal yet effective ingredients. Further research could be focused on field experiments and on the exploration of synergistic effects of different polyols for optimization of field applications. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Novel Bacillus and Prestia isolates from Dwarf century plant enhance crop yield and salinity tolerance.

Soil salinity is a major environmental stressor impacting global food production. Staple crops like wheat experience significant yield losses in saline environments. Bioprospecting for beneficial microbes associated with stress-resistant plants offers a promising strategy for sustainable agriculture. We isolated two novel endophytic bacteria, Bacillus cereus (ADJ1) and Priestia aryabhattai (ADJ6), from Agave desmettiana Jacobi. Both strains displayed potent plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits, such as producing high amounts of indole-3-acetic acid (9.46, 10.00 µgml-1), ammonia (64.67, 108.97 µmol ml-1), zinc solubilization (Index of 3.33, 4.22, respectively), ACC deaminase production and biofilm formation. ADJ6 additionally showed inorganic phosphate solubilization (PSI of 2.77), atmospheric nitrogen fixation, and hydrogen cyanide production. Wheat seeds primed with these endophytes exhibited enhanced germination, improved growth profiles, and significantly increased yields in field trials. Notably, both ADJ1 and ADJ6 tolerated high salinity (up to 1.03 M) and significantly improved wheat germination and seedling growth under saline stress, acting both independently and synergistically. This study reveals promising stress-tolerance traits within endophytic bacteria from A. desmettiana. Exploiting such under-explored plant microbiomes offers a sustainable approach to developing salt-tolerant crops, mitigating the impact of climate change-induced salinization on global food security.

In Silico Analysis of the Phylogenetic and Physiological Characteristics of Sphingobium indicum B90A: A Hexachlorocyclohexane-Degrading Bacterium.

The study focuses on the in silico genomic characterization of Sphingobium indicum B90A, revealing a wealth of genes involved in stress response, carbon monoxide oxidation, ß-carotene biosynthesis, heavy metal resistance, and aromatic compound degradation, suggesting its potential as a bioremediation agent. Furthermore, genomic adaptations among nine Sphingomonad strains were explored, highlighting shared core genes via pangenome analysis, including those related to the shikimate pathway and heavy metal resistance. The majority of genes associated with aromatic compound degradation, heavy metal resistance, and stress response were found within genomic islands across all strains. Sphingobium indicum UT26S exhibited the highest number of genomic islands, while Sphingopyxis alaskensis RB2256 had the maximum fraction of its genome covered by genomic islands. The distribution of lin genes varied among the strains, indicating diverse genetic responses to environmental pressures. Additionally, in silico evidence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between plasmids pSRL3 and pISP3 of the Sphingobium and Sphingomonas genera, respectively, has been provided. The manuscript offers novel insights into strain B90A, highlighting its role in horizontal gene transfer and refining evolutionary relationships among Sphingomonad strains. The discovery of stress response genes and the czcABCD operon emphasizes the potential of Sphingomonads in consortia development, supported by genomic island analysis.

Distinct orchid mycorrhizal fungal communities among co-occurring Vanilla species in Costa Rica: root substrate and population-based segregation.

Despite being the second largest family of flowering plants, orchids represent community structure variation in plant-microbial associations, contributes to niche partitioning in metacommunity assemblages. Yet, mycorrhizal communities and interactions remain unknown for orchids that are highly specialized or even obligated in their associations with their mycorrhizal partners. In this study, we sought to compare orchid mycorrhizal fungal (OMF) communities of three co-occurring hemiepiphytic Vanilla species (V. hartii, V. pompona, and V. trigonocarpa) in tropical forests of Costa Rica by addressing the identity of their OMF communities across species, root types, and populations, using high-throughput sequencing. Sequencing the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) yielded 299 fungal Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) from 193 root samples. We showed distinct segregation in the putative OMF (pOMF) communities of the three coexisting Vanilla hosts. We also found that mycorrhizal communities associated with the rare V. hartii varied among populations. Furthermore, we identified Tulasnellaceae and Ceratobasidiaceae as dominant pOMF families in terrestrial roots of the three Vanilla species. In contrast, the epiphytic roots were mainly dominated by OTUs belonging to the Atractiellales and Serendipitaceae. Furthermore, the pOMF communities differed significantly across populations of the widespread V. trigonocarpa and showed patterns of distance decay in similarity. This is the first report of different pOMF communities detected in roots of wild co-occurring Vanilla species using high-throughput sequencing, which provides evidence that three coexisting Vanilla species and their root types exhibited pOMF niche partitioning, and that the rare and widespread Vanilla hosts displayed diverse mycorrhizal preferences.

Integrative spatial omics reveals distinct tumor-promoting multicellular niches and immunosuppressive mechanisms in African American and European American patients with TNBC.

Racial disparities in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) outcomes have been reported. However, the biological mechanisms underlying these disparities remain unclear. We integrated imaging mass cytometry and spatial transcriptomics, to characterize the tumor microenvironment (TME) of African American (AA) and European American (EA) patients with TNBC. The TME in AA patients was characterized by interactions between endothelial cells, macrophages, and mesenchymal-like cells, which were associated with poor patient survival. In contrast, the EA TNBC-associated niche is enriched in T-cells and neutrophils suggestive of an exhaustion and suppression of otherwise active T cell responses. Ligand-receptor and pathway analyses of race-associated niches found AA TNBC to be immune cold and hence immunotherapy resistant tumors, and EA TNBC as inflamed tumors that evolved a distinctive immunosuppressive mechanism. Our study revealed the presence of racially distinct tumor-promoting and immunosuppressive microenvironments in AA and EA patients with TNBC, which may explain the poor clinical outcomes.