Functional connectivity of the world's protected areas.

Global policies call for connecting protected areas (PAs) to conserve the flow of animals and genes across changing landscapes, yet whether global PA networks currently support animal movement-and where connectivity conservation is most critical-remain largely unknown. In this study, we map the functional connectivity of the world's terrestrial PAs and quantify national PA connectivity through the lens of moving mammals. We find that mitigating the human footprint may improve connectivity more than adding new PAs, although both strategies together maximize benefits. The most globally important areas of concentrated mammal movement remain unprotected, with 71% of these overlapping with global biodiversity priority areas and 6% occurring on land with moderate to high human modification. Conservation and restoration of critical connectivity areas could safeguard PA connectivity while supporting other global conservation priorities.

COVID-19 meningitis without pulmonary involvement with positive cerebrospinal fluid PCR.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) typically presents with respiratory illness ranging in severity. Neurological complications of the disease remain largely unknown. Herein, we discuss the case of a woman diagnosed with COVID-19 meningitis following two positive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) RT-PCR assays, and highlight the importance of recognizing the neurological manifestations of the disease. CASE REPORT: The patient was a 49-year-old woman with a history of hypertension who presented with non-specific symptoms (fever, headache, malaise, nausea/vomiting). Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed a lack of pulmonary involvement and oropharyngeal/nasopharyngeal RT-PCR was negative for COVID-19. A lumbar puncture was performed on the third day of admission and the CSF analysis elucidated a viral pattern, but the CSF bacterial culture and RT-PCR assay for herpes simplex virus were both negative. Surprisingly, the CSF RT-PCR for COVID-19 was positive. The diagnosis of COVID-19 meningitis was made and the patient was treated solely with Kaletra® , with a second CSF analysis confirming our unique finding 1 week later. The patient's clinical characteristics improved progressively, and she was discharged in excellent general condition after 21 days. CONCLUSION: In contrast to what was originally believed, the SARS-CoV-2 can cause meningitis in isolation, perhaps by crossing the blood-brain barrier. Hence, it seems essential that physicians maintain a high index of suspicion for neurological involvement among COVID-19 patients, with early CSF analysis and brain imaging sometimes being indicated.

Frequency of sero-positivity in household members of the patients with positive toxoplasma serology.

OBJECTIVE: Toxoplasma gondii is cause of a wide variety of infections in human. The aim of this study was; to evaluate the frequency of sero-positivity of the members in a family with a positive serologic person. METHODS: A case-control study with 170 enrolled units which was conducted in Iran in 2017. The units were settled into two group: I: the family members of seropositive individuals and II: the family members of seronegative individuals. The level of IgG and IgM anti-toxoplasma antibodies were evaluated by ELISA qualitative manner in both groups. RESULTS: Frequency of individuals with positive serology was 52.9% and 34.1% in group I and II, respectively (P value = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Clusters of toxoplasma infection would be an event in the family members. Therefore evaluation of the family members (especially high risk persons) of a patient may be necessary.

An analysis of Pseudomonas genomic diversity in take-all infected wheat fields reveals the lasting impact of wheat cultivars on the soil microbiota.

Manipulation of the soil microbiota associated with crop plants has huge promise for the control of crop pathogens. However, to fully realize this potential we need a better understanding of the relationship between the soil environment and the genes and phenotypes that enable microbes to colonize plants and contribute to biocontrol. A recent 2 years of investigation into the effect of wheat variety on second year crop yield in the context of take-all fungal infection presented the opportunity to examine soil microbiomes under closely defined field conditions. Amplicon sequencing of second year soil samples showed that Pseudomonas spp. were particularly affected by the wheat cultivar grown in year one. Consequently, 318 rhizosphere-associated Pseudomonas fluorescens strains were isolated and characterized across a variety of genetic and phenotypic traits. Again, the wheat variety grown in the first year of the study was shown to exert considerable selective pressure on both the extent and nature of Pseudomonas genomic diversity. Furthermore, multiple significant correlations were identified within the phenotypic/genetic structure of the Pseudomonas population, and between individual genotypes and the external wheat field environment. The approach outlined here has considerable future potential for our understanding of plant-microbe interactions, and for the broader analysis of complex microbial communities.

Effects of dietary supplementation of synbiotic on growth performance, serum biochemical parameters and carcass composition in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fingerlings.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of a synbiotic (Biomin IMBO) on serum parameters and feeding efficiency in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fingerlings. The fish with initial average weight of 4.59 ± 0.2 g were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments for two months. The dietary treatment (0.5, 1 and 1.5 g/kg of diet) was supplemented with basal diet and non-supplemented basal diet was used as control. After two months, all treatments supplemented with synbiotic showed significant (p < 0.05) increase in final mean weight, weight gain percentage, specific growth rate, condition factor, food conversion efficiency and survival rate, compared to the control group. Among all supplemented treatments, the best result in terms of growth factors and survival was observed in the treatment supplemented with 1 g synbiotic per kilogram of diet. Furthermore, supplementation with symbiotic, specifically 1 and 1.5 g/kg, significantly (p < 0.05) increased the total serum protein, but there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in globulin content, albumin/globulin ratio, and triglyceride content among experimental treatments. In terms of body composition, carcass protein content of fish fed with synbiotic significantly (p < 0.05) increased compared to the control. These results revealed that a feeding regime with synbiotic for two months led to a significant increase in growth performance, survival rate and feeding efficiency in rainbow trout fingerlings.