Blalockhjelm4124

High temperatures and extended drought in temperate and tropical arid ecosystems promote the colonization of diverse microenvironments by dark septate fungi (DSF). These fungi contribute to soil nutrient cycling, soil stabilization, and plant survival, but the roles of individual DSF species, their distributions, and their community diversity are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to evaluate the distribution, seasonal variation, and potential roles of DSF on plant growth. We collected biocrust (lichen-, moss-, and cyanobacterium-dominated biocrusts) soils at different depths and rhizosphere soils from two grasses, Bromus tectorum and Pleuraphis jamesii, in an arid grassland near Moab, Utah, USA. Seasonal variation of DSF was evaluated using culture-based approaches and compared with fungal community profiles from next-generation sequencing (NGS). Culturing showed that DSF were 30% more abundant in biocrusts compared with the focal rhizospheres. The abundance of DSF varied seasonally in belowground samples (rhizosphere and below-biocrust), with a significant increase during the summer months. Pleosporales was the dominant order (35%) in both biocrust and rhizosphere soils out of 817 isolated fungi. Dominant DSF genera in culture included Alternaria, Preussia, Cladosporium, Phoma, and an unknown Pleosporales. Similar results were observed in biocrust and rhizosphere soils NGS. Further, seed germination experiments using dominant taxa were conducted to determine their potential roles on germination and seedling growth using maize as a model plant. Cladosporium and unknown Pleosporales isolates showed plant growth-promoting ability. The variation in abundance of DSF, their differential occurrence in different microenvironments, and their ability to grow in a xerotolerant medium reflect adaptations to summer environmental conditions and to changes in the abundance of organic matter, as well as a potential increase in plant investment in these fungi when heat and drought stresses are more severe.Leading sportspeople across 2021, such as Simone Biles (US gymnast), Naomi Osaka (Japanese tennis player) and Ben Stokes (English cricketer), have talked openly about the pressure of performing on the highest stage, including the challenge of managing mental health when engaged in elite competition. The withdrawal of Simone Biles midway through the women's team competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games propelled what was seemingly a debate within sport, into what is increasing becomingly wider societal conversation around mental health. The stories of sportspeople struggling to perform at the highest level with mental health contributing to their difficulties, has inevitably prompted much reflection within medical education among teachers and students alike, about parallels in our domain around assessment, feedback and support. The stories demonstrate that mental health problems affect everyone, including those who are at their peak physically, and those who are among the finest on the planet in terms of physical and sporting ability. The same is true within medical education of our students, who are also our future doctors. However, curriculum conversations about assessment, feedback and student support may not be as student-centred as they could be, or perhaps as they should be, with mental health possibly still being a taboo-subject or something associated with stigma within medical education. Here is another opportunity for medical education to learn from other disciplines, such as sports psychology, and now is the time for taking and applying those lessons not just those around improving technical performance, but those around properly caring, being compassionate, and looking after our future Olympian equivalents.

Clinical data suggest that the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) in proton therapy (PT) varies with linear energy transfer (LET). However, LET calculations are neither standardized nor available in clinical routine. Here, the status of LET calculations among European PT institutions and their comparability are assessed.

Eight European PT institutions used suitable treatment planning systems with their center-specific beam model to create treatment plans in a water phantom covering different field arrangements and fulfilling commonly agreed dose objectives. They employed their locally established LET simulation environments and procedures to determine the corresponding LET distributions. Dose distributions



and

assuming constant and variable RBE, respectively, and LET were compared among the institutions. Inter-center variability was assessed based on dose- and LET-volume-histogram parameters.

Treatment plans from six institutions fulfilled all clinical goals and were eligible for common anale RBE. It may serve as basis for harmonized variable RBE dose prescription in PT.

Harmonizing the reported LET among PT centers is feasible and allows for consistent multi-centric analysis and reporting of tumor control and toxicity in view of a variable RBE. It may serve as basis for harmonized variable RBE dose prescription in PT.

To describe the clinical characteristics and longitudinal pattern of visual acuity (VA) of pediatric patients with uveitis at a tertiary center in Thailand.

We retrospectively reviewed the records of children with uveitis ≤16years who presented to the clinic between January 2010 and June 2020.

The mean age at onset was 9.1(±4.3) years; the main characteristics were chronic (64.4%), unilateral (68.6%), and panuveitis (39%). The common etiologies were ocular toxoplasmosis (11.9%), herpetic uveitis (10.2%), and ocular toxocariasis (6.8%). Further, 40% of the eyes presented with VA of ≤20/200; mean VA at baseline improved from 0.93 to 0.72 logMAR at 3months after presentation (

<.001), the baseline VA of ≤20/200 was significantly associated with poor VA outcome at 1 year.

Chronic, unilateral, and panuveitis represented the majority of our children with uveitis. Infectious etiology was common. Significant VA improvement can be achieved with optimum management.

Chronic, unilateral, and panuveitis represented the majority of our children with uveitis. Infectious etiology was common. Significant VA improvement can be achieved with optimum management.An 82-year-old woman with macular degeneration receiving intravitreal bevacizumab, presented with 5-months history of muco-purulent blepharo-kerato-conjunctivitis, resistant to multiple topical antibiotics. Visual acuities were 20/25 right and 20/30 left. She had patent nasolacrimal systems, bilateral blepharoptosis, deep superior fornices (21mm right, 22mm left) with muco-purulent discharge, upper tarsal papillae, and punctate keratitis. Bilateral giant fornix syndrome (GFS) was diagnosed, and forniceal swabs grew Serratia marcescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, despite current use of intensive topical moxifloxacin. Topical preservative-free Povidone-Iodine 5% twice-daily, two-hourly weaning course of Prednisolone acetate 1% and Ciprofloxacin 250 mg twice-daily were added with complete resolution within 1 week and no recurrence after 3 months. Serratia conjunctivitis has not been previously reported in association with GFS. Conjunctival flora alteration following previous peri-procedural antibiotics and antiseptics, in the setting of a large fornix with redundant, inflamed conjunctiva, may explain the colonization with this opportunistic organism. Topical povidone-iodine 5% appears to be effective for multi-drug resistant opportunistic Serratia conjunctivitis in association with GFS.The 4S-Ag(I)-C base pair (4S, 3-((2-(methylthio)pyrimidin-4-yl)thio)propane-1,2-diol; C, deoxycytidine) represents the first metal-mediated base pair comprising an S-glycosidic nucleoside analogue. We report here the synthesis of the phosphoramidite suitable for the automated solid-phase synthesis of DNA oligonucleotides containing 4S and its silver(I)-binding ability. The DNA duplexes comprising a 4SC mispair exhibit a large thermal stabilization upon the addition of one equivalent of silver ions, giving rise to the formation of the above-mentioned silver(I)-mediated base pair. By formally replacing the sulfur atom in the glycosidic bond by an oxygen atom, i.e., by applying 3-((2-(methylthio)pyrimidin-4-yl)oxy)propane-1,2-diol (4 O) as the artificial nucleoside analogue, the participation of this atom as a donor atom in silver(I)-mediated base pairing is shown to be neglectable.Supplemental data for this article is available online at.This article uses neo-Weberian social closure theory and Bourdieu's theory of symbolic violence to examine the epistemic tension between biomedicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ), a country that aspires to a multicultural model of healthcare. GW806742X research buy Drawing on interviews with TCM practitioners and analysis of TCM practitioners' attempt to become a regulated profession, we argue that a multicultural health model remains a myth as biomedical stakeholders deploy material and symbolic forms of social closure that limit the scope of TCM practice. Discourses of the need for scientific evidence, public safety, qualification standards and English language fluency undermine the culturally distinctive but pragmatic forms of medicine that TCM practitioners utilise. This has implications for TCM as practitioners are denied public funding, their scope of practice is limited, and the expectations for TCM to conform to a biomedical model of healthcare have created tensions within the TCM community.The highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N6 viruses are widely circulating in poultry and wild birds, and have caused 38 human infections including 21 deaths; however, the key genetic determinants of the pathogenicity of these viruses have yet to be fully investigated. Here, we characterized two H5N6 avian influenza viruses - A/duck/Guangdong/S1330/2016 (GD/330) and A/environment/Fujian/S1160/2016 (FJ/160) - that have similar viral genomes but differ markedly in their lethality in mice. GD/330 is highly pathogenic with a 50% mouse lethal dose (MLD50) of 2.5 log10 50% egg infectious doses (EID50), whereas FJ/160 exhibits low pathogenicity with an MLD50 of 7.4 log10 EID50. We explored the molecular basis for the difference in virulence between these two viruses. By using reverse genetics, we created a series of reassortants and mutants in the GD/330 background and assessed their virulence in mice. We found that the HA gene of FJ/160 substantially attenuated the virulence of GD/330 and that the mutation of glycine (G) to tryptophan (W) at position 225 (H3 numbering) in HA played a key role in this function. We further found that the amino acid mutation G225W in HA decreased the acid and thermal stability and increased the pH of HA activation, thereby attenuating the H5N6 virus in mice. Our study thus identifies a novel molecular determinant in the HA protein and provides a new target for the development of live attenuated vaccines and antiviral drugs against H5 influenza viruses.This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with Glycyrrhiza polysaccharide (GCP) on growth performance, serum biochemistry, immunity, and egg laying in female quail. 300 1-day-old female quail were sorted into four dietary treatments with five replicate cages of 15 birds each. The basic diet in the four treatment groups was supplemented with 0, 500, 1000 and 1500 mg/kg GCP, and the experiment continued for 80 days. Results showed that dietary supplementation with GCP significantly (p  less then  0.05) increased average daily gain in a dose-dependent fashion, and decreased (p  less then  0.05) the feed-to-gain ratio and mortality. The relative weights of the thymus and bursa of Fabricius increased (p  less then  0.05) linearly with increasing dose of GCP from 0 to 1500 mg/kg on day 20. GCP birds showed higher serum levels of protein, glucose, immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin M, but lower serum triglycerides (p  less then  0.05) on day 50. GCP increased (p  less then  0.05) average laying rate and average egg weight linearly from days 60 to 80, whereas feed to egg ratio was decreased (p  less then  0.