Quantifying synergy and redundancy between networks.

Understanding how different networks relate to each other is key for understanding complex systems. We introduce an intuitive yet powerful framework to disentangle different ways in which networks can be (dis)similar and complementary to each other. We decompose the shortest paths between nodes as uniquely contributed by one source network, or redundantly by either, or synergistically by both together. Our approach considers the networks' full topology, providing insights at multiple levels of resolution: from global statistics to individual paths. Our framework is widely applicable across scientific domains, from public transport to brain networks. In humans and 124 other species, we demonstrate the prevalence of unique contributions by long-range white-matter fibers in structural brain networks. Across species, efficient communication also relies on significantly greater synergy between long-range and short-range fibers than expected by chance. Our framework could find applications for designing network systems or evaluating existing ones.

The symbiovar mediterranense of Sinorhizobium meliloti nodulates Phaseolus vulgaris across Lanzarote (Canary Islands): A revision of this symbiovar supports a proposal to delimit symbiovars boundaries in Sinorhizobium and to define four new symbiovars.

The symbiovar mediterranense of Sinorhizobium meliloti was initially found in Phaseolus vulgaris nodules in Tunisia and in an eastern location of Lanzarote (Canary Islands). Here we show that the symbiovar mediterranense of S. meliloti also nodulates P. vulgaris in two western locations of this Island. The analyses of the symbiotic nodA and nodC genes reveal the complexity of the symbiovar mediterranense which encompasses strains belonging to several phylogenetic lineages and clusters. The comparison of the nodA and nodC phylogenies showed that the nodC was the most resolutive phylogenetic marker for the delineation of Sinorhizobium symbiovars. Considering that the similarity of this gene within several symbiovars, particularly mediterranense, is around 95 %, the cut-off value for their differentiation should be lower. Considering that a nodC gene cut-off similarity value of around 92 % is accepted for the genus Bradyrhizobium and that the symbiovar concept is identical in all rhizobial genera, we propose to apply this value for symbiovars delineation within all these genera. Therefore, using this cut-off value for the nodC gene analysis of Sinorhizobium symbiovars, we propose to merge the symbiovars aegeanense and fredii into the single symbiovar fredii and to define four novel symbiovars with the names asiaense, culleni, sudanense and tunisiaense.

Sensing of luminal contents and downstream modulation of GI function.

The luminal environment is rich in macronutrients coming from our diet and resident microbial populations including their metabolites. Together, they have the capacity to modulate unique cell surface receptors, known as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Along the entire length of the gut epithelium, enteroendocrine cells express GPCRs to interact with luminal contents, such as GPR93 and the calcium sensing receptor to sense proteins, FFA2 and GPR84 to sense fatty acids, and SGLT1 and T1R to sense carbohydrates. Nutrient-receptor interaction causes the release of hormonal stores such as glucagon-like peptide 1, peptide YY, and cholecystokinin, which further regulate gut function. Existing data show the role of luminal components and microbial fermentation products on gut function. However, there is a lack of understanding in the mechanistic interactions between diet-derived luminal components and microbial products and nutrient-sensing receptors and downstream gastrointestinal modulation. This review summarizes current knowledge on various luminal components and describes in detail the range of nutrients and metabolites and their interaction with nutrient receptors in the gut epithelium and the emerging impact on immune cells.

Annual Meeting Content Analysis: Leveraging Annual Meetings to Promote Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing need to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of academic medicine, including through continuing medical education. Although professional medical organizations' annual meetings play an instrumental role in continuing medical education for physicians, there are no studies describing DEI content in the annual meeting programming of professional medical organizations, including the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry (ACLP), the primary professional organization for consultation-liaison psychiatrists. OBJECTIVE: To examine the ACLP annual meeting titles using Content Analysis. METHODS: We examined the publicly available ACLP annual meeting content titles on the ACLP website from 2010 to 2021. National DEI leaders from ACLP's DEI subcommittee iteratively generated keywords that covered a broad scope of DEI-related themes. Each annual meeting's content was independently coded by 2 members of the DEI subcommittee with discrepancies adjudicated by 2 additional members. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the content of the annual meeting. RESULTS: Of the 2615 annual meeting titles from 2010 to 2021 that were analyzed, 2531 were not coded to have DEI themes. Three percent (n = 84) of titles were coded to have a DEI theme as follows: Culture/diversity (n = 20, 24%), bias/disparities (n = 17, 20%), race/racism (n = 17, 20%), social justice (n = 12, 14%), gender/sexism (n = 10, 12%), and LGBTQ+ (n = 8, 10%). The frequency of DEI titles each year ranged from 1% (2010, 2018) to 17% (2021) with an increase in DEI content in 2021 (n = 24, 17%). CONCLUSIONS: Although professional medical organizations like the ACLP are poised to leverage their continuing medical education platforms embedded in annual meeting programming to train consultation-liaison psychiatrists on DEI topics, our findings suggest more work is needed to develop and promote DEI-focused educational programming for their annual meetings.

Connectome-based reservoir computing with the conn2res toolbox.

The connection patterns of neural circuits form a complex network. How signaling in these circuits manifests as complex cognition and adaptive behaviour remains the central question in neuroscience. Concomitant advances in connectomics and artificial intelligence open fundamentally new opportunities to understand how connection patterns shape computational capacity in biological brain networks. Reservoir computing is a versatile paradigm that uses high-dimensional, nonlinear dynamical systems to perform computations and approximate cognitive functions. Here we present conn2res: an open-source Python toolbox for implementing biological neural networks as artificial neural networks. conn2res is modular, allowing arbitrary network architecture and dynamics to be imposed. The toolbox allows researchers to input connectomes reconstructed using multiple techniques, from tract tracing to noninvasive diffusion imaging, and to impose multiple dynamical systems, from spiking neurons to memristive dynamics. The versatility of the conn2res toolbox allows us to ask new questions at the confluence of neuroscience and artificial intelligence. By reconceptualizing function as computation, conn2res sets the stage for a more mechanistic understanding of structure-function relationships in brain networks.

A Case Series of 11 Patients With Subacute Serotonin Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Serotonin syndrome is an acute, life-threatening illness characterized by mental status changes, neuromuscular symptoms, and autonomic instability. Some patients taking serotonergic antidepressants have been noted to have unexplained mental status changes and/or neuromuscular changes without autonomic instability raising the possibility of a more chronic or attenuated form of serotonin syndrome. OBJECTIVE: Assessment of antidepressant blood levels to support the diagnosis of a subacute serotonin syndrome. METHODS: At a tertiary psychiatric outpatient clinic, patients with unexplained mental status and/or neuromuscular changes without autonomic instability had antidepressant blood levels assessed. RESULTS: Eleven patients were identified with signs and symptoms partially consistent with serotonin syndrome. Nine patients had cognitive changes, while four patients had motor changes, and three patients had psychosis. All patients had elevated blood levels of a single serotonergic antidepressant. Limited follow-up suggests that symptoms improve with reduction of antidepressant medication. CONCLUSIONS: These cases suggest that a more chronic, attenuated form of serotonin syndrome exists. Diagnostic criteria are proposed for a distinct clinical entity: subacute serotonin syndrome (SSS). Further research is required to validate these criteria. Clinicians should consider drawing antidepressant levels for patients with symptoms and signs suggestive of SSS-especially those at increased vulnerability for excessive serotonergic agonism. Given the high prevalence of antidepressant medication use, the awareness of SSS could lead to improved patient outcomes and public health.

Feasibility of Forward Osmosis to Recover Textile Dyes Using Single Salts and Multicomponent Draw Solutions.

The textile industry generates large volumes of water characterized mainly by an intense color coming from dyes that are difficult to process due to their synthetic base and the presence of aromatic components. Due to the stricter regulation on the discharge of these effluents, in order to reduce dye waste before discharge into natural channels, alternatives are being sought to manage this wastewater. In this work, the concentration of dyes in simulated wastewater from the textile industry was studied by forward osmosis (with a cellulose triacetate CTA membrane), with the aim of concentrating the dye for its future recovery and reincorporation into the production process. Two dyes of different nature were evaluated to study the efficiency of the proposed process, using NaCl and reverse osmosis brine from a model seawater desalination solution as extraction solutions. It was observed that dye type (reactive or direct) and their charge influence the color rejection with the forward osmosis membrane used. It was able to concentrate the dyes in the feed solution up to approximately 55% with the reverse osmosis brine from the model seawater desalination solution. Finally, the results demonstrate that the FO process is a promising option for concentrating dyes present in wastewater from the textile industry in order to reuse them in the dyeing process.

Confocal Microscopy, Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography and Clinical Findings in a Non-Granulomatous Uveitis Case for Mpox Infection.

PURPOSE: To report a rare case of non-granulomatous anterior uveitis (clinical, IVCM in vivo confocal microscopy, and anterior optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings) in a non-immunosuppressed patient with mpox infection. METHODS: A 24-year-old male was consulted for bilateral ocular pain, red eye, itchiness, and mucoid discharge. In his left eye, multiple vesicles and papules, some with central ulceration, were found in the superior and inferior eyelids. Mucoid discharge, chemosis, limbitis, and an anterior chamber reaction were also found. A conjunctival PCR swab for mpox was positive. The patient was treated with topical steroids with a good response. RESULTS: OCT and IVCM showed sub-endothelial deposits, stromal edema, hyperreflective multinucleated images in the epithelial layer, activated stromal images, and stromal edema characterized by fusiform hyperreflectivity that was resolved with the proposed treatment. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of OCT and IVCM in a non-immunosuppressed patient with mpox infection with a good response to topical steroids.

Propiedades nutricionales, tecno-funcionales y aplicación en alimentos del frijol mungo (Vigna radiata)

El frijol mungo (Vigna radiata) es una leguminosa ampliamente producida y consumida en países asiáticos. Esta leguminosa gradualmente ha ido tomando importancia dentro de la gastronomía de occidente, tanto por su valor nutricional como por sus propiedades biológicas y tecnológicas. Dentro de sus propiedades nutricionales se destaca el contenido de proteínas, carbohidratos, fibra y compuestos fenólicos. Las semillas de frijol mungo con un adecuado tratamiento, ya sea de germinación, fermentación o aislamiento, ha demostrado tener propiedades biológicas como la antioxidante, antidiabética, antihipertensiva, antiinflamatoria y anticancerígena. Por otro lado, dentro de las propiedades tecnológicas podemos destacar las propiedades emulsificante, espumante, gelificante, absorción de aceite y de agua. Todas estas propiedades mencionadas hacen que el frijol mungo sea un ingrediente de interés para la industria de alimentos, por lo cual, se hace necesario realizar una revisión de los estudios recientes acerca de los atributos nutricionales, tecno-funcionales y aplicaciones en el área de alimentos.

The mung bean (Vigna radiata) is a legume widely produced and consumed in Asian countries. This legume has gradually gained importance in western gastronomy for its nutritional value and biological and technological properties. Among its nutritional properties, the content of protein, carbohydrates, fibre, and phenolic compounds stands out. With proper treatment, whether it is germination, fermentation or isolation, mung beans have been shown to have biological properties such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, antihypertensive, anti-inflammatory, and anticancer. However, we can highlight the properties of emulsifying, foaming, geling, oil, and water absorption within the technological properties. All these properties make the mung bean an ingredient of interest for the food industry, for which it is necessary to review recent studies on the nutritional, techno-functional attributes and applications in the food area.

Prevalence and factors associated with initial and subsequent shockable cardiac arrest rhythms and their association with patient outcomes in dogs and cats undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation: A RECOVER registry study.

OBJECTIVE: To report the prevalence of initial shockable cardiac arrest rhythms (I-SHKR), incidence of subsequent shockable cardiac arrest rhythms (S-SHKR), and factors associated with I-SHKRs and S-SHKRs and explore their association with return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) rates in dogs and cats undergoing CPR. DESIGN: Multi-institutional prospective case series from 2016 to 2021, retrospectively analyzed. SETTING: Eight university and eight private practice veterinary hospitals. ANIMALS: A total of 457 dogs and 170 cats with recorded cardiac arrest rhythm and event outcome reported in the Reassessment Campaign on Veterinary Resuscitation CPR registry. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Logistic regression was used to evaluate association of animal, hospital, and arrest variables with I-SHKRs and S-SHKRs and with patient outcomes. Odds ratios (ORs) were generated, and significance was set at P < 0.05. Of 627 animals included, 28 (4%) had I-SHKRs. Odds for I-SHKRs were significantly higher in animals with a metabolic cause of arrest (OR 7.61) and that received lidocaine (OR 17.50) or amiodarone (OR 21.22) and significantly lower in animals experiencing arrest during daytime hours (OR 0.22), in the ICU (OR 0.27), in the emergency room (OR 0.13), and out of hospital (OR 0.18) and that received epinephrine (OR 0.19). Of 599 initial nonshockable rhythms, 74 (12%) developed S-SHKRs. Odds for S-SHKRs were significantly higher in animals with higher body weight (OR 1.03), hemorrhage (OR 2.85), or intracranial cause of arrest (OR 3.73) and that received epinephrine (OR 11.36) or lidocaine (OR 18.72) and significantly decreased in those arresting in ICU (OR 0.27), emergency room (OR 0.29), and out of hospital (OR 0.38). Overall, 171 (27%) animals achieved ROSC, 81 (13%) achieved sustained ROSC, and 15 (2%) survived. Neither I-SHKRs nor S-SHKRs were significantly associated with ROSC. CONCLUSIONS: I-SHKRs and S-SHKRs occur infrequently in dogs and cats undergoing CPR and are not associated with increased ROSC rates.

What works in peer support for breast cancer survivors: A qualitative systematic review and meta-ethnography.

Breast cancer is associated with adverse physical and psychological consequences. Although research has identified the various benefits linked to psychosocial interventions, mixed results have been found in relation to peer support. The aim of the present systematic review and meta-ethnography is to explore the qualitative evidence on the experience of breast cancer survivors in peer support. A systematic search of the literature was conducted until June 2023, and a meta-ethnographic approach was used to synthesize the included papers. Eleven articles were included, collecting the experience of 345 participants. The following four core areas involved in peer support implementation were identified from the synthesis: Peer support can create understanding and a mutual therapeutic and emotional connection; peer support can facilitate an educational and supportive patient-centered journey; peer support should monitor group members for unpleasant emotional experiences; peer support should have professional supervision of recruitment and training to prioritize quality. These results can be used as patient-centered insights by healthcare professionals to provide evidence-informed peer support programs and address current limitations in the field.

High Diversity of Bradyrhizobial Species Fix Nitrogen with Woody Legume Spartocytisus supranubius in a High Mountain Ecosystem.

The symbiosis between rhizobia and legumes is of pivotal importance in nitrogen-poor ecosystems. Furthermore, as it is a specific process (most legumes only establish a symbiosis with certain rhizobia), it is of great interest to know which rhizobia are able to nodulate key legumes in a specific habitat. This study describes the diversity of the rhizobia that are able to nodulate the shrub legume Spartocytisus supranubius in the harsh environmental conditions of the high mountain ecosystem of Teide National Park (Tenerife). The diversity of microsymbionts nodulating S. supranubius was estimated from a phylogenetic analysis of root nodule bacteria isolated from soils at three selected locations in the park. The results showed that a high diversity of species of Bradyrhizobium and two symbiovars can nodulate this legume. Phylogenies of ribosomal and housekeeping genes showed these strains distributed into three main clusters and a few isolates on separate branches. These clusters consist of strains representing three new phylogenetic lineages of the genus Bradyrhizobium. Two of these lineages belong to the B. japonicum superclade, which we refer to as B. canariense-like and B. hipponense-like, as the type strains of these species are the closest species to our isolates. The third main group was clustered within the B. elkanii superclade and is referred to as B. algeriense-like as B. algeriense is its closest species. This is the first time that bradyrhizobia of the B. elkanii superclade have been reported for the canarian genista. Furthermore, our results suggest that these three main groups might belong to potential new species of the genus Bradyrhizobium. Analysis of the soil physicochemical properties of the three study sites showed some significant differences in several parameters, which, however, did not have a major influence on the distribution of bradyrhizobial genotypes at the different locations. The B. algeriense-like group had a more restrictive distribution pattern, while the other two lineages were detected in all of the soils. This suggests that the microsymbionts are well adapted to the harsh environmental conditions of Teide National Park.

An eHealth ecosystem for stepped and early psychosocial care in advanced lung cancer: Rationale and protocol for a randomized control trial.

Background: Receiving a diagnosis of lung cancer is an emotional event, not least because it is usually diagnosed at advanced stages with limited life expectancy. Although evidence-based educational, emotional, and social interventions exist, they reach few patients and usually when it is too late. Objective: This project will be carried out in a comprehensive center for cancer care and health research, aiming to study the efficacy, costs, and utility of an eHealth ecosystem to meet the psychosocial needs of patients with advanced lung cancer. Method: We will enroll 76 patients with advanced lung cancer into an eHealth ecosystem of stepped and personalized psychosocial care for 9 months. These patients will be compared with another 76 receiving usual care in a non-inferiority randomized controlled trial. The following main outcomes will be measured every 3 months: emotional distress, spirituality, demoralization, quality of life, and medication adherence. Secondary outcomes will include symptomatology, health education, cost-utility analyses, usability and satisfaction with the platform, and time to detect emotional needs and provide care. Baseline differences between groups will be measured with the Student t-test or chi-square test, as appropriate. We will then compare the main outcomes between groups over time using multilevel linear models, report effect sizes (Hedges' g), and assess non-inferiority. The cost-utility of both interventions will be considered in terms of quality adjusted life years and quality of life given the costs of providing each treatment. Discussion: This randomized controlled trial should provide new evidence on the efficacy and cost-utility of an eHealth ecosystem to deliver personalized and timely psychosocial care to patients with advanced lung cancer. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov ID "NCT05497973".

Dinámica de la pandemia de SARS-COVID-19 en la provincia de Buenos Aires a partir del número reproductivo efectivo (Rt) / Dynamics of SARS-COVID-19 pandemic in the province of Buenos Aires based on the effective reproductive number (Rt)

INTRODUCCIÓN: Desde el comienzo de la pandemia de COVID-19 hasta el 31 de marzo de 2022, en la provincia de Buenos Aires se llegó a los 3 542 289 casos, de los cuales fallecieron 59 746. Una de las mediciones incorporadas a la vigilancia fue la estimación del número reproductivo efectivo (Rt), que proporciona información acerca de la velocidad con que una enfermedad puede propagarse. El objetivo de este estudio fue estimar la variación de Rt, del tiempo de duplicación y la tasa de contagio como expresión de la dinámica de la pandemia de COVID-19 desde marzo de 2020 hasta marzo de 2022 en la provincia de Buenos Aires. MÉTODOS: El Rt se estimó en ventanas semanales deslizantes, con una media de intervalo en serie paramétrica de 4,8 días y una desviación estándar de 2,3. El tiempo de duplicación aplicó la función logaritmo (ln), ya que se asumió que el crecimiento del número de casos seguía una distribución exponencial. La tasa de contagio (Tc) se calculó a partir de una regresión lineal de los ln de los casos acumulados en plazos de 7 días. RESULTADOS: Se estudiaron 3 495 338 casos confirmados. Se observaron tres momentos donde Rt>1. DISCUSIÓN: A medida que avanzó la pandemia, Rt pudo estimarse en tiempo real y mostró cómo fue evolucionando a lo largo de los dos años de pandemia en consonancia con las ondas u olas, que aparecieron en tres oportunidades durante la ventana histórica analizada.

Endophytic Bosea spartocytisi sp. nov. Coexists with rhizobia in root nodules of Spartocytisus supranubius growing in soils of Teide National Park (Canary Islands).

Two rod-shaped Gram negative strains, SSUT16T and SSUT22, were isolated from root nodules of Spartocytisus supranubius in soils of the Teide National Park (Tenerife, Spain). The 16S rRNA gene sequences of these two novel strains classified them within genus Bosea with similarity values ranging from 97.65 % to 99.54 % with respect to the other species of this genus. The MLSA analysis from a concatenation of the two housekeeping- genes, recA and gyrB, showed that Bosea thiooxidans LMG 26210T and B. robiniae LMG 26381T are the two closest relative species with which they share similarity sequences values of 94.42 % and 94.27 %, respectively. The genome sequence analysis of strain SSUT16T showed average nucleotide identity percentages (ANIb) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) below 84 % and 33 %, respectively, with the type strains of all sequenced species of genus Bosea. These values are much lower than the currently accepted cut-off values for these two parameters to delineate bacterial species, confirming that the novel strains constitute a novel Bosea species. In addition, they are also distinguished from the other closest species in their fatty acid composition and in other phenotypic characteristics. Genome sequence analysis showed the absence of the common nodulation and nitrogen fixation genes in the novel strains. Therefore, based on the results of phylogenetic, genomic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic characterization, we propose a new species named Bosea spartocytisi sp. nov., with type strain SSUT16T (=LMG 32510T = CECT 30526T = HAMBI 3759T).

A connectomics-based taxonomy of mammals.

Mammalian taxonomies are conventionally defined by morphological traits and genetics. How species differ in terms of neural circuits and whether inter-species differences in neural circuit organization conform to these taxonomies is unknown. The main obstacle to the comparison of neural architectures has been differences in network reconstruction techniques, yielding species-specific connectomes that are not directly comparable to one another. Here, we comprehensively chart connectome organization across the mammalian phylogenetic spectrum using a common reconstruction protocol. We analyse the mammalian MRI (MaMI) data set, a database that encompasses high-resolution ex vivo structural and diffusion MRI scans of 124 species across 12 taxonomic orders and 5 superorders, collected using a unified MRI protocol. We assess similarity between species connectomes using two methods: similarity of Laplacian eigenspectra and similarity of multiscale topological features. We find greater inter-species similarities among species within the same taxonomic order, suggesting that connectome organization reflects established taxonomic relationships defined by morphology and genetics. While all connectomes retain hallmark global features and relative proportions of connection classes, inter-species variation is driven by local regional connectivity profiles. By encoding connectomes into a common frame of reference, these findings establish a foundation for investigating how neural circuits change over phylogeny, forging a link from genes to circuits to behaviour.

neuromaps: structural and functional interpretation of brain maps.

Imaging technologies are increasingly used to generate high-resolution reference maps of brain structure and function. Comparing experimentally generated maps to these reference maps facilitates cross-disciplinary scientific discovery. Although recent data sharing initiatives increase the accessibility of brain maps, data are often shared in disparate coordinate systems, precluding systematic and accurate comparisons. Here we introduce neuromaps, a toolbox for accessing, transforming and analyzing structural and functional brain annotations. We implement functionalities for generating high-quality transformations between four standard coordinate systems. The toolbox includes curated reference maps and biological ontologies of the human brain, such as molecular, microstructural, electrophysiological, developmental and functional ontologies. Robust quantitative assessment of map-to-map similarity is enabled via a suite of spatial autocorrelation-preserving null models. neuromaps combines open-access data with transparent functionality for standardizing and comparing brain maps, providing a systematic workflow for comprehensive structural and functional annotation enrichment analysis of the human brain.

Urban Birds as Antimicrobial Resistance Sentinels: White Storks Showed Higher Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Levels Than Seagulls in Central Spain.

The presence of AMR bacteria in the human-animal-environmental interface is a clear example of the One Health medicine. Several studies evidence the presence of resistant bacteria in wildlife, which can be used as a good indicator of anthropization level on the ecosystem. The fast increase in AMR in the environment in the last decade has been led by several factors as globalization and migration. Migratory birds can travel hundreds of kilometers and disseminate pathogens and AMR through different regions or even continents. The aim of this study was to compare the level of AMR in three migratory bird species: Ciconia ciconia, Larus fuscus and Chroicocephalus ridibundus. For this purpose, commensal Escherichia coli has been considered a useful indicator for AMR studies. After E. coli isolation from individual cloacal swabs, antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed by the disk-diffusion method, including 17 different antibiotics. A total of 63.2% of gulls had resistant strains, in contrast to 31.6% of white storks. Out of all the resistant strains, 38.9% were considered multi-drug resistant (50% of white storks and 30% of seagulls). The antibiotic classes with the highest rate of AMR were betalactamics, quinolones and tetracyclines, the most commonly used antibiotic in human and veterinary medicine in Spain.

A Digital Cancer Ecosystem to Deliver Health and Psychosocial Education as Preventive Intervention.

Health education and psychosocial interventions prevent emotional distress, and the latter has been shown to have an impact on survival. In turn, digital health education interventions may help promote equity by reaching a higher number of cancer patients, both because they avoid journeys to the hospital, by and having a better efficiency. A total of 234 women recently diagnosed with breast cancer in a comprehensive cancer center used the digital ecosystem ICOnnecta't from March 2019 to March 2021. ICOnnecta't consists of four care levels, provided to patients according to their level of distress. The second level of this intervention consists of an educational campus, which was analyzed to track users' interests and their information-seeking behavior. Overall, 99 out of 234 women (42.3%) used the educational campus. There were no significant differences in sociodemographic and clinical variables between the campus users and non-users. Among users, the median number of resources utilized per user was four (interquartile range: 2−9). Emotional and medical resources were the contents most frequently viewed and the audiovisual format the most consulted (p < 0.01). Resources were used mainly within the first three months from enrolment. Users who were guided to visit the virtual campus were more active than spontaneous users. Offering an early holistic health educational platform inside a digital cancer ecosystem, with health professionals involved, can reach more patients, promoting equity in the access of cancer information and prevention, from the very beginning of the disease.

Optimization of lignocellulolytic bacterial inoculum and substrate mix for lignocellulose degradation and product quality on co-composting of green waste with food waste.

The present study evaluates the effect of the mixing ratio of substrates and inoculation with lignocellulolytic bacteria on green waste (GW) and food waste (FW) co-composting. A Box-Behnken design was used to simultaneously optimize the lignocellulose degradation (%LD) and end-product quality. The best operational conditions were 4.85*105 CFU g-1 of Bacillus sp. F3X3 and 1.44*106 CFU g-1 of Paenibacillus sp. F1A5 with a substrate mixture containing 50% GW, 32.5% unprocessed FW, 2.5% processed FW, 13% sawdust, and 2% phosphate rock; with a C/N ratio of 27. Under these conditions, the %LD was 33% and the end-product has pH 8.3, TOC 22,4%, TN 1,7%, and a germination index of 103%. Therefore, the product complies with quality standards for organic fertilizers. The results of this study allow the identification of appropriate strategies to optimize GW composting, increasing the degradation of lignocellulose and improving the end-product quality.