Evapotranspiration, crop coefficient and water use efficiency of onion cultivated under different irrigation depths

ABSTRACT This study aimed to determine crop evapotranspiration through the soil water balance, the crop coefficient and water use efficiency of the onion (Allium cepa L.) in a system with four irrigation regimes, cultivated in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. Two field experiments were carried out during the rainy and dry periods of the region in 2018, using the treatments of 100% (T1), 75% (T2), 50% (T3) and 25% (T4) of the reference evapotranspiration for daily water replacement and five replicates for each treatment. It was verified that crop evapotranspiration varies according to the water availability in the soil; however, the highest water use efficiency occurred for the T3 treatment. The T1 treatment obtained the highest estimated yield, 43.86 tons ha-1, while T4 obtained 13.47 tons ha-1, the lowest estimated yield among the treatments, and this difference was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05) by F test. The crop coefficients obtained were 0.68, 0.89, 0.99 and 0.73 for the initial, vegetative, bulbing and maturation stages, respectively.

Dysfunction of low-density neutrophils in peripheral circulation in patients with sepsis

Low-density neutrophils (LDNs) have been described in tumors and various autoimmune diseases, where they exhibit immune dysfunction and alter disease progression. Nevertheless, LDNs have been rarely reported in sepsis. We studied sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Wright-Giemsa stain assay and Transmission electron microscopy were performed to detect the morphology of neutrophils. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the number and function of LDNs. Concentration of cytokines was measured using ELISA. Neutrophil chemotaxis was examined using an under-agarose chemotaxis model. We found that LDNs were significantly elevated in patients with sepsis. Phenotypes and morphological characteristics suggest that LDNs may be formed by mixtures of neutrophils at various maturation stages. In vitro experiments showed that LDN formation was closely associated with neutrophil degranulation. We preliminarily discussed changes in immune function in LDNs. Compared with high-density neutrophils, expression levels of CXC chemokine receptor 4 on LDN surfaces were increased, phagocytotic capacity was decreased, and life span was prolonged. The chemotactic ability of LDNs was significantly reduced, possibly related to the increased expression of P2X1. These data suggest that LDNs are essential components of neutrophils in sepsis. To clarify the source and dysfunction mechanism of LDN in sepsis may be helpful for the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis in the future.

The Tumor Immune Landscape and Architecture of Tertiary Lymphoid Structures in Urothelial Cancer

Candidate immune biomarkers have been proposed for predicting response to immunotherapy in urothelial cancer (UC). Yet, these biomarkers are imperfect and lack predictive power. A comprehensive overview of the tumor immune contexture, including Tertiary Lymphoid structures (TLS), is needed to better understand the immunotherapy response in UC. We analyzed tumor sections by quantitative multiplex immunofluorescence to characterize immune cell subsets in various tumor compartments in tumors without pretreatment and tumors exposed to preoperative anti-PD1/CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitors (NABUCCO trial). Pronounced immune cell presence was found in UC invasive margins compared to tumor and stroma regions. CD8+PD1+ T-cells were present in UC, particularly following immunotherapy. The cellular composition of TLS was assessed by multiplex immunofluorescence (CD3, CD8, FoxP3, CD68, CD20, PanCK, DAPI) to explore specific TLS clusters based on varying immune subset densities. Using a k-means clustering algorithm, we found five distinct cellular composition clusters. Tumors unresponsive to anti-PD-1/CTLA-4 immunotherapy showed enrichment of a FoxP3+ T-cell-low TLS cluster after treatment. Additionally, cluster 5 (macrophage low) TLS were significantly higher after pre-operative immunotherapy, compared to untreated tumors. We also compared the immune cell composition and maturation stages between superficial (submucosal) and deeper TLS, revealing that superficial TLS had more pronounced T-helper cells and enrichment of early TLS than TLS located in deeper tissue. Furthermore, superficial TLS displayed a lower fraction of secondary follicle like TLS than deeper TLS. Taken together, our results provide a detailed quantitative overview of the tumor immune landscape in UC, which can provide a basis for further studies.

Transversal craniofacial development between skeletal maturation stages: A multi-center posteroanterior cephalometric study

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the dentofacial transversal norms according to the stages of skeletal maturation in growing Turkish individuals and to determine differences between the genders. Materials and Methods: In our multi-centered, cross-sectional retrospective study, in which transversal measurements were made according to skeletal maturation stages (SMSs), posteroanterior radiographs of 572 individuals (292 female, 280 male) with skeletal and dental Class I relationships and good occlusion were examined at the age range of 7–18 years. SMSs were determined using Björk, Grave and Brown hand-wrist radiography. A linear regression model was used for changes of transversal measurements between SMSs, and t-test was used to determine transverse changes between the genders. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between females and males in cranial, facial, and nasal width values up to SMS 5. In maxillary, mandibular, maxillary intermolar, and mandibular intermolar width measurements, males had higher values in most stages of skeletal maturation compared to females. Apart from nasal width and maxillomandibular ratio values in females, the regression model in which transversal measurements were dependent variables, and SMS were independent variables was found to be significant. According to cumulative growth percentages, the growth completion in transversal measurements occurred earlier in females. Conclusion: Transversal measurements determined according to the stages of skeletal maturation can be a guide for orthodontists in the clinic to determine values that deviate from normal.

Is the bioactivity of induced membranes time dependent?

Purpose The induced membrane technique (IMT) is a two-stage surgical procedure for reconstruction of bone defects. Bone grafting (second stage of IMT) is recommend after 4–8 weeks assuming the highest bioactivity of IMs. However, larger studies concerning the biology and maturation of IMs and a potential time dependency of the bioactivity are missing. Therefore, aim of this study was the time-dependent structural and cellular characterization of cement spacer IMs concomitantly to an analysis of membrane bioactivity. Methods IMs from 60 patients (35–82 years) were obtained at different maturation stages (1–16 weeks). IMs were studied by histology and co-culture with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). IM lysates were analyzed by ELISA and protein microarray. Results Increasing vascularization and fibrosis were found in membranes older than 4 and 7 weeks, respectively. MSC grew out from all membranes and all membranes enhanced proliferation of cultured MSC. Osteocalcin and osteopontin (in membrane lysates or induced in MSC by membrane tissue) were found over all time points without significant differences. In contrast to alkaline phosphatase activity, increasing levels of osteoprotegerin were found in membranes. Conclusion The histological structure of IMs changes during growth and maturation, however, biologically active MSC and factors related to osteogenesis are found over all time points with minor changes. Thus, membranes older than 8 weeks exert regenerative capacities comparable to the younger ones. The postulated narrow time frame of 4–8 weeks until bone grafting can be questioned and surgeons may choose timing for the second operation more independently and based on other clinical factors.

Dentoskeletal effects of early class III treatment protocol based on timing of intervention in children

Background To detect the optimal timing of intervention based on different cervical vertebral maturation stage (CS1-2 vs. CS3-4) for the treatment of Class III malocclusion with early Class III protocol. Methods A total sample of 43 patients (23 females, 20 males) ranging between 7 and 13 years of age with dentoskeletal Class III malocclusion treated with the modified SEC III (Splints, Elastic and Chincup) protocol divided into two groups based on the cervical vertebral maturation stages (CS1-2 and CS3-4) was included in this retrospective observational longitudinal study. Patient compliance was assessed using a 2-point Likert scale. Statistical comparisons between the two groups were performed with independent sample t tests. Results No statistically significant differences for any of the cephalometric variables describing the baseline dentoskeletal features were found between the two groups except for the mandibular unit length that was significantly greater in the pubertal group (P = 0.005). The modified SEC III protocol produced favorable sagittal outcomes in both groups, whereas no statistically significant T1-T2 changes were found between the CS1-2 and CS3-4 groups for any of the angular and linear measurements. No significant differences were found in the prevalence rates of the degree of collaboration between the two groups (P = 1.000). Conclusions No significant differences between prepubertal and pubertal patients were found in the sagittal and vertical dentoskeletal changes with the modified SEC III protocol. Thus, this early Class III treatment produced similar favorable effects in growing subjects regardless of the cervical vertebral maturation stages from CS1 to CS4.

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (Tuberculosis)

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health threat caused by the intracellular bacterial pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Globally, 10 million individuals fell ill of TB and 1.4 million died in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted on TB notifications in 2020, thereby markedly increasing morbidity and mortality caused by TB. The lung is the most frequent site of disease manifestation, the site of pathogen entry and the source of dissemination. In the infected lung, granulomas are formed at the site of Mtb persistence which primarily consist of macrophages of different maturation stages and T lymphocytes. Solid granulomas contain Mtb, thus preventing outbreak of active disease. The individual is now latently infected. Once Mtb evades immune control, granulomas become necrotic and later caseous. Active TB disease has started. Diagnosis of TB is done by chest X-ray, microscopy, bacterial culture, molecular test, and immunologic test. TB can be cured by a combination of 3-4 specific drugs given over a period of 6-9 months. Increasing incidences of multi-drug and extensively drug-resistant Mtb render therapy difficult to impossible. The current vaccine, Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) prevents extrapulmonary childhood TB but fails to protect against pulmonary TB in all age groups. New vaccines against TB are urgently needed. New candidates that have entered clinical trials are killed whole cell vaccines, recombinant live vaccines, Mtb antigen-adjuvant formulations or viral vectors expressing Mtb antigens.

A stable proportion of Purkinje cell inputs from parallel fibers are silent during cerebellar maturation

Cerebellar Purkinje neurons integrate information transmitted at excitatory synapses formed by granule cells. Although these synapses are considered essential sites for learning, most of them appear not to transmit any detectable electrical information and have been defined as silent. It has been proposed that silent synapses are required to maximize information storage capacity and ensure its reliability, and hence to optimize cerebellar operation. Such optimization is expected to occur once the cerebellar circuitry is in place, during its maturation and the natural and steady improvement of animal agility. We therefore investigated whether the proportion of silent synapses varies over this period, from the third to the sixth postnatal week in mice. Selective expression of a calcium indicator in granule cells enabled quantitative mapping of presynaptic activity, while postsynaptic responses were recorded by patch clamp in acute slices. Through this approach and the assessment of two anatomical features (the distance that separates adjacent planar Purkinje dendritic trees and the synapse density), we determined the average excitatory postsynaptic potential per synapse. Its value was four to eight times smaller than responses from paired recorded detectable connections, consistent with over 70% of synapses being silent. These figures remained remarkably stable across maturation stages. According to the proposed role for silent synapses, our results suggest that information storage capacity and reliability are optimized early during cerebellar maturation. Alternatively, silent synapses may have roles other than adjusting the information storage capacity and reliability.