Comparative microbiome diversity in root-nodules of three Desmodium species used in push-pull cropping system.

Background: Desmodium species used as intercrops in push-pull cropping systems are known to repel insect-pests, suppress Striga species weeds, and shift soil microbiome. However, the mechanisms through which Desmodium species impact the soil microbiome, either through its root exudates, changes in soil nutrition, or shading microbes from its nodules into the rhizosphere, are less understood. Here, we investigated the diversity of root-nodule microbial communities of three Desmodium species- Desmodium uncinatum (SLD), Desmodium intortum (GLD), and Desmodium incanum (AID) which are currently used in smallholder maize push-pull technology (PPT). Methods: Desmodium species root-nodule samples were collected from selected smallholder farms in western Kenya, and genomic DNA was extracted from the root-nodules. The amplicons underwent paired-end Illumina sequencing to assess bacterial and fungal populations. Results: We found no significant differences in composition and relative abundance of bacterial and fungal species within the root-nodules of the three Desmodium species. While a more pronounced shift was observed for fungal community compositions compared to bacteria, no significant differences were observed in the general diversity (evenness and richness) of fungal and bacterial populations among the three Desmodium species. Similarly, beta diversity was not significantly different among the three Desmodium species. The root-nodule microbiome of the three Desmodium species was dominated by Bradyrhizobium and Fusarium species. Nevertheless, there were significant differences in the proportion of marker gene sequences responsible for energy and amino acid biosynthesis among the three Desmodium species, with higher sequence proportions observed in SLD. Conclusion: There is no significant difference in the microbial community of the three Desmodium species used in PPT. However, root-nodule microbiome of SLD had significantly higher marker gene sequences responsible for energy and amino acid biosynthesis. Therefore, it is likely that the root-nodules of the three Desmodium species host similar microbiomes and influence soil health, consequently impacting plant growth and agroecosystem functioning.

Correction: Synergies of integrated pest and pollinator management in avocado farming in East Africa: An ex-ante economic analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271241.].

Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses of Cabbage Aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) to Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Volatiles, a Potential push Plant for Vegetable push-pull Cropping System.

The cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae) is a major pest of kale (Brassica oleraceae var. acephala), an important vegetable that is grown worldwide due to its high nutritional and economic value. Brevicoryne brassicae poses a great challenge to B. oleraceae var. acephala production, causing significant direct and indirect yield losses. Farmers overly rely on synthetic insecticides to manage the pest with limited success owing to its high reproductive behavior and development of resistance. This necessitates a search for sustainable alternatives to mitigate these challenges. This study assessed behavioral responses of B. brassicae to odors from rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and B. oleraceae var. acephala headspace volatiles in a Perspex four-arm olfactometer. We identified and quantified volatiles emitted by each of the two plants and those eliciting antennal response using coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and GC-electroantennograhic detection(GC-EAD), respectively. Our findings revealed that B. brassicae spent more time in the arms of the olfactometer that contained B. oleraceae var. acephala volatiles compared to the arm that held R. officinalis volatiles. Additionally, B. brassicae spent more time in the olfactometer arms with B. oleracea var. acephala compared to the arms holding B. oleracea var. acephala and R. officinalis enclosed together and clean air. GC-MS analysis revealed diverse and higher quantities of volatile compounds in R. officinalis compared to B. oleraceae var. acephala. GC-EAD analysis showed that antennae of B. brassicae detected Linalool, α-Terpineol, Verbenone, Geraniol, Camphor, and Borneol from the volatiles of R. officinalis, and Sabinene, γ-Terpinene, and ß-Caryophyllene from B. oleraceae var. acephala volatiles. Our findings demonstrate the potential of R. officinalis as a repellent plant against B. brassicae and could be utilized as a 'push' plant in an intercropping strategy against this pest.

Is Anorexia Truly a Contemporary Disease?

BACKGROUND: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is reported to be on the rise. However, instances of fasting have been noted since antiquity. Can modern diagnoses be applied to circumstances very different from our own? Is there a continuum of symptoms whose meanings have evolved over centuries, or is AN a recent development? SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A literature review was conducted. Twelve articles were found to be pertinent to the study, including several by Jacques Maître, who also published a book on the subject that was utilized. RESULTS: Few instances of fasting and no deaths from AN are reported in Western antiquity. With the advent of Christianity, prolonged fasting appears in the West. From the 12thcentury onwards, food deprivation becomes significant in women's spiritual lives, reaching a peak in inedia until the Renaissance. In 1873, Lasègue and Gull published a medical description of AN. Thereafter, AN fluctuated between being a distinct pathology and a symptom of another syndrome. Long considered a hysterical symptom, Freud initiated a shift toward sexual causality. In 1914, hypophyseal atrophy was considered a cause but was later forgotten. World War II did not produce instances of AN; food refusal has meaning only when food is abundant. During times of imposed famine, women's roles in food management and corpulence are valorized. In the 1960s, attention shifted to body image and an inability to cope with pubertal changes. Today, Russell describes a change in patient profiles with increased fear of weight gain and reduced fear of sexualization. CONCLUSION: Two opposing theses emerge. On one hand, it is argued that mystical fasts and AN cannot be linked and that AN is a recent disorder. Modern society subjects us to greater social pressures, forcing women to deny their biological roles in pursuit of thinness. On the other hand, AN is considered the heir to mystical fasting, as part of women's attempts to escape societal roles. Hagiographic descriptions and psychoanalytic studies that highlight the unconscious dynamics between mother-daughter relationships and pubertal difficulties support this view.

Microbiota Diversity and Inflammation as a New Target to Improve Mood: Probiotic Use in Depressive Disorder.

BACKGROUND: There is a lot of evidence for a bidirectional communication between the gut and brain. Dysbiosis and increase intestinal permeability may lead to a systemic low-grade inflammatory response or various neuroactive bacterial metabolite may cross gut barrier. Pro-inflammatory cytokines or bacterial metabolites such as short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) are known to pass through blood brain barrier and altered neurotransmitter metabolism or increase production of neurotoxic pathways. In this review we hypothesized that restoring the gut microbiota ecosystem could improve mental disorders. We reviewed literature for human evidence proving clinical relevance of probiotics intake in mental disorders. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We searched literature with keywords "depression" or "major depressive disorder" and "probiotic". We selected randomized control trial and we considered having both outcomes concerning impact on depressive symptoms but also on inflammation biomarkers, microbiota composition, cerebral nervous system or cognition. RESULTS: Seven out of fourteen randomized control trial reported significant improvement on depressive symptoms in patients taking probiotics. Besides improvement in depressive symptoms, we found decrease in inflammatory markers such as IL-6, decrease in serum kynurenine level, changes in microbiota diversity and abundance of species correlated to depressive disorder and higher cognitive performance. CONCLUSIONS: Probiotic seems to be secure and more effective on depression when used in supplement to usual antidepressant and in mild to moderate depression. We highlighted positive impact on vulnerability factors prevent further worsening. Probiotics could have anti-inflammatory effect acting on inflammatory markers well known to have a role on pathogenesis of depression. A strong correlation between neuroactive metabolites and a relative abundance of microbiota bacterial species underlined importance to consider the gut-brain axis in mental disorders.

COVID, the Main Cause of Mysery of Teenager? Retrospective Study of Hospitalizations of 15-25 in Psychosomatics (2018-2022).

BACKGROUND: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been an apparent increase in the utilization of mental health services and psychiatric disorders among youth. However, there is little data on youth mental health prior to the pandemic. Some authors suggest that the increase in the use of psychiatric care started before. Are we facing a recent phenomenon initiated by the pandemic that will disappear with it, or did it highlight an older issue? Have the profiles of the young people and the care provided changed since the pandemic? SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Retrospective study of the hospitalization records of patients aged 15 to 25. The inclusion period extends from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2022. RESULTS: There was an increase in the number of young people hospitalized from September 2020 to February 2021, suggesting a delayed effect of Covid's impact. 44% of young people were hospitalized through emergency services, number that has increased. There has been an increase in prior psychiatric care and hospitalizations among patients hospitalized since the beginning of the pandemic. 49% attribute their condition to family issues. Upon discharge, many patients were on medication, but there has been no significant change in prescriptions since the pandemic began. The majority of patients were referred to their primary care physician, psychologist, and psychiatrist, which has not changed since the pandemic began. CONCLUSIONS: Apart from the increase in hospitalizations, the rest of the practices within the institution has remained unchanged, suggesting that there are few differences in issues brought by patients since the start of the pandemic. Difficulties related to the family environment remain the primary reason for hospitalization requests. We do not have clear evidence of a worsening situation, which tends to support the hypothesis that COVID-19 has been a catalyst for a pre-existing state.

How to Improve Collaboration Between General Practitioners and Clinical Psychologists for Their Patients' Common Mental Health Problems in Primary Care Context?

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems have become a major topic of public health these last years, particularly since the pandemic of COVID-19. Primary care givers are confronted with high rates of common mental health problems (CMHPs) in population. This questions healthcare organization and specifically collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and clinical psychologists (CPs). In this paper we aim to review recent literature to identify factors that facilitate or hinder collaboration between GPs and CPs when caring for their patients' CMHPs. METHODS: A non-systematic qualitative literature review was performed, using the PRISMA method. We restricted the review to papers published between 2010 and 2023. RESULTS: We identified 52 papers and after filtering, only 6 were included in the synthesis. Six main themes were identified: barriers to interprofessional collaboration, lack of mutual trust, mutual dissatisfaction with information exchanged, the paradox of professional secrecy, the necessity of a paradigm shift, and conceptual frameworks of collaboration. These themes were discussed to improve collaboration between GPs and CPs. CONCLUSION: This work provides some recommendations to support the development of interprofessional collaboration between GPs and CPs in primary care.

Sporulation conditions influence the surface and adhesion properties of Bacillus subtilis spores.

Spore-forming bacteria of the Bacillus subtilis group are responsible for recurrent contamination of processing lines in the food industry which can lead to food spoilage. The persistence of B. subtilis would be due to the high resistance of spores to extreme environmental condition and their propensity to contaminate surfaces. While it is well known that sporulation conditions modulate spore resistance properties, little is known about their effect on surface and adhesion properties. Here, we studied the impact of 13 sporulation conditions on the surface and adhesion properties of B. subtilis 168 spores. We showed that Ca2+ or Mg2+ depletion, lower oxygen availability, acidic pH as well as oxidative stresses during sporulation lead to the release of more hydrophobic and adherent spores. The consequences of these sporulation conditions on crust composition in carbohydrates and proteins were also evaluated. The crust glycans of spores produced in a sporulation medium depleted in Ca2+ or Mg2+ or oxygen-limited conditions were impaired and contained lower amounts of rhamnose and legionaminic acid. In addition, we showed that lower oxygen availability or addition of hydrogen peroxide during sporulation decreases the relative amount of two crust proteins (CgeA and CotY) and the changes observed in these conditions could be due to transcriptional repression of genes involved in crust synthesis in late stationary phase. The fact that sporulation conditions affect the ease with which spores can contaminate surfaces could explain the frequent and recurrent presence of B. subtilis spores in food processing lines.

Ultrastable and Responsive Foams Based on 10-Hydroxystearic Acid Soap for Spore Decontamination.

Currently, there is renewed interest in using fatty acid soaps as surfactants. Hydroxylated fatty acids are specific fatty acids with a hydroxyl group in the alkyl chain, giving rise to chirality and specific surfactant properties. The most famous hydroxylated fatty acid is 12-hydroxystearic acid (12-HSA), which is widely used in industry and comes from castor oil. A very similar and new hydroxylated fatty acid, 10-hydroxystearic acid (10-HSA), can be easily obtained from oleic acid by using microorganisms. Here, we studied for the first time the self-assembly and foaming properties of R-10-HSA soap in an aqueous solution. A multiscale approach was used by combining microscopy techniques, small-angle neutron scattering, wide-angle X-ray scattering, rheology experiments, and surface tension measurements as a function of temperature. The behavior of R-10-HSA was systematically compared with that of 12-HSA soap. Although multilamellar micron-sized tubes were observed for both R-10-HSA and 12-HSA, the structure of the self-assemblies at the nanoscale was different, which is probably due to the fact that the 12-HSA solutions were racemic mixtures, while the 10-HSA solutions were obtained from a pure R enantiomer. We also demonstrated that stable foams based on R-10-HSA soap can be used for cleaning applications, by studying spore removal on model surfaces in static conditions via foam imbibition.

Interactions between integrated pest management, pollinator supplementation, and normalized difference vegetation index in pumpkin, Cucurbita maxima (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae), production.

Sustainable production of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne) partly relies on integrated pest management (IPM) and pollination services. A farmer-managed field study was carried out in Yatta and Masinga Sub-Counties of Machakos County, Kenya, to determine the effectiveness of a recommended IPM package and its interaction with stingless bee colonies (Hypotrigona sp.) for pollinator supplementation (PS). The IPM package comprised Lynfield traps with cuelure laced with the organophosphate malathion, sprays of Metarhizium anisopliae (Mechnikoff) Sorokin isolate ICIPE 69, the most widely used fungal biopesticide in sub-Saharan Africa, and protein baits incorporating spinosad. Four treatments-IPM, PS, integrated pest and pollinator management (which combined IPM and PS), and control-were replicated 4 times. The experiment was conducted in 600 m2 farms in 2 normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) classes during 2 growing seasons (October 2019-March 2020 and March-July 2020). Fruits showing signs of infestation were incubated for emergence, fruit fly trap catches were counted weekly, and physiologically mature fruits were harvested. There was no effect of IPM, PS, and NDVI on yield across seasons. This study revealed no synergistic effect between IPM and PS in suppressing Tephritid fruit fly population densities and damage. Hypotrigona sp. is not an efficient pollinator of pumpkin. Therefore, we recommend testing other African stingless bees in pumpkin production systems for better pollination services and improved yields.

Decontamination of Spores on Model Stainless-Steel Surface by Using Foams Based on Alkyl Polyglucosides.

In the food industry, the surfaces of processing equipment are considered to be major factors in the risk of food contamination. The cleaning process of solid surfaces is essential, but it requires a significant amount of water and chemicals. Herein, we report the use of foam flows based on alkyl polyglucosides (APGs) to remove spores of Bacillus subtilis on stainless-steel surfaces as the model-contaminated surface. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was also studied as an anionic surfactant. Foams were characterized during flows by measuring the foam stability and the bubble size. The efficiency of spores' removal was assessed by enumerations. We showed that foams based on APGs could remove efficiently the spores from the surfaces, but slightly less than foams based on SDS due to an effect of SDS itself on spores removal. The destabilization of the foams at the end of the process and the recovery of surfactant solutions were also evaluated by using filtration. Following a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach, we evaluated the impact of the foam flow on the global environmental footprint of the process. We showed significant environmental impact benefits with a reduction in water and energy consumption for foam cleaning. APGs are a good choice as surfactants as they decrease further the environmental impacts.

Stereoisomer-specific reprogramming of a bacterial flagellin sialyltransferase.

Glycosylation of surface structures diversifies cells chemically and physically. Nucleotide-activated sialic acids commonly serve as glycosyl donors, particularly pseudaminic acid (Pse) and its stereoisomer legionaminic acid (Leg), which decorate eubacterial and archaeal surface layers or protein appendages. FlmG, a recently identified protein sialyltransferase, O-glycosylates flagellins, the subunits of the flagellar filament. We show that flagellin glycosylation and motility in Caulobacter crescentus and Brevundimonas subvibrioides is conferred by functionally insulated Pse and Leg biosynthesis pathways, respectively, and by specialized FlmG orthologs. We established a genetic glyco-profiling platform for the classification of Pse or Leg biosynthesis pathways, discovered a signature determinant of eubacterial and archaeal Leg biosynthesis, and validated it by reconstitution experiments in a heterologous host. Finally, by rewiring FlmG glycosylation using chimeras, we defined two modular determinants that govern flagellin glycosyltransferase specificity: a glycosyltransferase domain that either donates Leg or Pse and a specialized flagellin-binding domain that identifies the acceptor.

Effects of a 9-Month Military-Base Internship on the Competitive Integrated Employment of Military Dependent and Connected Youth with ASD.

This waitlist-controlled cluster randomized clinical trial presents the results of PS + ASD for military dependent and connected youth with ASD. Following earlier findings regarding PS + ASD, this study expands upon that previous work by including a new population, military dependent and connected transition aged youth with ASD. Findings indicate that military dependent and connected youth who participated in PS + ASD gained competitive integrated employment at 60% despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn. In addition, these youth worked a mean of 24.42 h weekly and earned an average hourly wage of $9.38 at one year post baseline while the waitlist control group participants did not gain CIE. In addition, by 18 months, 58.3% of participants gained positions in federal employment. Implications of the study are discussed.

The Entomopathogenic Fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana for Management of the Melon Fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae: Pathogenicity, Horizontal Transmission, and Compatability with Cuelure.

In the laboratory, the pathogenicity of thirteen isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin and two isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin against the melon fly Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) were assessed by exposing adults to 0.3 g of dry conidia (~3 × 109 conidia) of each isolate for 5 min and monitoring mortality for up to 5 days. Compatibility with a male pheromone, cuelure, (4-(p-acetoxyphenyl)-2-butanone), was determined by testing conidial germination and germ tube growth of the most promising isolate, M. anisopliae ICIPE 69, in the presence of cuelure at different temperatures. For horizontal transmission, the flies were separated by sex, separately exposed to M. anisopliae ICIPE 69, and subsequently mixed with non-exposed flies from the other sex. The most pathogenic isolates were M. anisopliae ICIPE 69, 18, and 30, causing mortalities of 94, 87, and 81%, with 5 days post-exposure, respectively. Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE 69 caused the highest pupal mortality of 74%, with 15 days post-exposure. Horizontal transmission of M. anisopliae ICIPE 69 among male and female Z. cucurbitae was confirmed by 59 and 67% mortality after exposure to infected donor males and females, respectively. Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE 69 affected the oviposition, but not hatchability, of infected Z. cucurbitae females. Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE 69 is, therefore, a potential isolate for biopesticide development for Z. cucurbitae management in cucurbit production systems.

Advances in data-collection tools and analytics for crop pest and disease management.

Innovative methods in data collection and analytics for pest and disease management are advancing together with computational efficiency. Tools, such as the open-data kit, research electronic data capture, fall armyworm monitoring, and early warning- system application and remote sensing have aided the efficiency of all types of data collection, including text, location, images, audio, video, and others. Concurrently, data analytics have also evolved with the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) for early warning and decision-support systems. ML has repeatedly been used for the detection, diagnosis, modeling, and prediction of crop pests and diseases. This paper thus highlights the innovations, implications, and future progression of these technologies for sustainability.