Non-wounding contact-based Inoculation of fruits with fungal pathogens in postharvest.

BACKGROUND: Fungal pathogens significantly impact the quality of fruits and vegetables at different stages of the supply chain, leading to substantial food losses. Understanding how these persistent fungal infections occur and progress in postharvest conditions is essential to developing effective control strategies. RESULTS: In this study, we developed a reliable and consistent inoculation protocol to simulate disease spread from infected fruits to adjacent healthy fruits during postharvest storage. We tested different combinations of relevant fruit commodities, including oranges, tomatoes, and apples, against impactful postharvest pathogens such as Penicillium digitatum, Penicillium italicum, Botrytis cinerea, and Penicillium expansum. We assessed the efficacy of this protocol using fruits treated with various postharvest methods and multiple isolates for each pathogen. We optimized the source of infected tissue and incubation conditions for each fruit-pathogen combination. Disease incidence and severity were quantitatively evaluated to study infection success and progression. At the final evaluation point, 80% or higher disease incidence rates were observed in all trials except for the fungicide-treated oranges inoculated with fungicide-susceptible Penicillium spp. isolates. Although disease incidence was lower in that particular scenario, it is noteworthy that the pathogen was still able to establish itself under unfavorable conditions, indicating the robustness of our methodology. Finally, we used multispectral imaging to detect early P. digitatum infections in oranges before the disease became visible to the naked eye but after the pathogen was established. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a non-invasive inoculation strategy that can be used to recreate infections caused by contact or nesting in postharvest. The observed high disease incidence and severity values across fruit commodities and fungal pathogens demonstrate the robustness, efficacy, and reproducibility of the developed methodology. The protocol has the potential to be tailored for other pathosystems. Additionally, this approach can facilitate the study of fruit-pathogen interactions and the assessment of innovative control strategies.

Applications of dry chain technology to maintain high seed viability in tropical climates.

Seed storage life in tropical areas is shortened by high humidity and temperature and the general inaccessibility to dehumidifying and refrigeration systems, resulting in rapid decreases in seed viability in storage as well as a high incidence of fungal and insect infestations. The dry chain, based on rapid and deep drying of seeds after harvest followed by packaging in moisture-proof containers, has been proposed as an effective method to maintain seed quality during medium-term storage in humid climates, even without refrigeration. In addition, seed drying with zeolite drying beads can be more effective and economical than sun or heated-air drying under these warm, humid conditions. In this paper, we review recent published literature regarding the dry chain, considering different crop species, storage environments and seed traits. In addition, we provide new original data on the application of dry chain methods and their implementation at larger scales in South Asia, Latin America and Pacific Island Countries. The clear conclusion is that the combination of reusable drying beads and waterproof storage containers enables the implementation of the dry chain in tropical climates, enhancing seed viability and quality in storage of many crop species. The dry chain approach can therefore significantly enhance seed security for farmers in many tropical countries. Finally, we propose actions and strategies that could guide further scaling-up implementation of this technology.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OBESITY AND BREAST CANCER / Relação entre obesidade e câncer de mama

Obesity is a growing clinical condition around the world, considered a risk factor for numerous diseases such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, diabetes, and cancer. Among the neoplasms related to overweight, breast cancer stands out. Therefore, the objective of this review is to elucidate the impact of obesity on the most prevalent cancer among women, either as a direct risk factor for its onset or as a determinant of survival

A obesidade aponta como condição clínica em ascensão pelo mundo, considerada fator de risco para inúmeras doenças como hipertensão, infarto, diabetes e câncer. Dentre as neoplasias relacionadas com o excesso de peso, destaca-se o câncer de mama. O objetivo desta revisão é, portanto, elucidar o impacto que a obesidade causa no câncer mais prevalente entre as mulheres, seja como fator de risco direto para seu aparecimento, seja como determinante na sobrevida

Bacterias mas frecuentes encontradas en hemocultivos de recien nacidos y su sensibilidad a los antibióticos / Bacterias most frequently found in blood cultures of newborns and its sensitivity to antibiotics

Antecedentes: La sensibilidad a los antibióticos por parte de las bacterias es algo cambiante y en el caso de los recién nacidos es vital saber cual antibiótico tiene mayores posibilidades de actuar efectivamente para iniciar con el, el tratamiento, hasta que tengamos los resultados de los cultivos, los cuales tardan de 48 a 72 horas en conocerse. Materiales y métodos: Se realizó un estudio prospectivo longitudinal por un período de 6 meses (julio-diciembre 1995) en el cual se estudiaron los resultados de los hemocultivos obtenidos de 26 recien nacidos admitidos a la unidad de cuidados intensivos neonatal (UCIN) del Servicio de Pediatría de el Hospital Dr. Luis E. Aybar en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, con el diagnóstico clínico de sépsis. Resultados: Un 65.3// de los hemocultivos tomados (17) resultaron positivos. Las bacterias mas frecuentemente aisladas fueron Klebsiella Pneumoniae 10 casos (58.8//) y el Staphylococus aureus 3 casos (17.6//). El antibiótico mas efectivo fue la gentamicina en 88.2// de los casos (15) seguido de la amikacina con un 64.7// (11 casos). Comentario: En un estudio similar efectuado un año antes (julio-diciembre 1994) el antibiótico mas efectivo había sido la amikacina en un 83// de los casos, contra la misma bacteria (Klebsiella Pneumoniae) que había sido también la mas frecuentemente encontrada en los hemocultivos. Esto nos demuestra la importancia de realizar este tipo de estudio frecuentemente en las UCIN

Incidencia y pronóstico de recién nacidos con apgar bajo al nacer / Incidence and prognosis of newborns with low APGAR at birth

El método de evaluación de recien nacidos, ideado por la Dra. Virginia Apgar en 1952, se tiene como una forma confiable de establecer su condición al nacer y de predecir su pronóstico. Realizamos un estudio prospectivo, longitudinal de 3,368 nacidos vivos en el servicio de obstetricia del Hospital Dr. Luis E. Aybar, en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, durante el período diciembre 1996-mayo 1997. Tuvimos un total de 64 recien nacidos con Apgar bajo (puntaje de 6 o <), para una incidencia de 19//. De los 3,304 nacidos con APGAR normal fallecieron 37 para una mortalidad de 11//; de los 64 recien nacidos con APGAR bajo fallecieron 16 para una mortalidad de 25// (p=0.02). La mortalidad general en los 3,368 recien nacidos fue de 15.7//. La mortalidad en recien nacidos con puntaje de APGAR bajo, es significativamente mayor que los que nacer con APGAR normal