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Organophosphates are becoming an emerging pollutant due to their various applications, particularly as pesticides. In this study, an improved Colony (Live-cell) PCR method was developed for the detection of opd genes from bacteria encoding the organophosphate hydrolase enzymes capable of degrading various organophosphates. The improved method does not require pre-heating or pre-lysis of bacterial cells as essential in the conventional colony PCR. The reaction volume was scaled down to 10 µl by optimizing the PCR buffer and amplification conditions. The improved method was used for Gram positive and negative bacteria, glycerol stocks, liquid cultures, recombinant and mutant strains. Also, 16S rRNA gene was amplified from unknown environmental isolates and known E. coli strains. The amplified opd and 16S rRNA genes from the improved colony PCR method and by conventional PCR were sequenced, and similar results were obtained from both techniques. Thus, the improved method can be further explored in molecular biology or during biomarker studies. KEY POINTS: • Improved colony PCR method was developed for screening of opd genes from bacteria. • Method was validated for Gram positive/negative bacteria from solid as well as liquid media. • The improved method was rapid, efficient, and can be applied under various conditions., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Background: The EXCEL trial reported similar five-year rates of the primary composite outcome of death, myocardial infarction (MI), or stroke after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for treatment of obstructive left main coronary artery disease (LMCAD)., Aims: We sought to determine whether these outcomes remained consistent regardless of geography of enrolment., Methods: We performed a prespecified subgroup analysis based on regional enrolment., Results: Among 1,905 patients randomised to PCI (n=948) or CABG (n=957), 1,075 (56.4%) were recruited at 52 European Union (EU) centres, and 752 (39.5%) were recruited at 67 North American (NA) centres. EU versus NA patients varied according to numerous baseline demographics, anatomy, pharmacotherapy and procedural characteristics. Nonetheless, the relative rates of the primary endpoint after PCI versus CABG were consistent across EU versus NA centres at 30 days and 5 years. However, NA participants had substantially higher late rates of ischaemia-driven revascularisation (IDR) after PCI, driven predominantly by the need for greater target vessel and lesion revascularisation. This culminated in a significant difference in the relative risk of the secondary composite outcome of death, MI, stroke, or IDR at 5 years (p interaction =0.02)., Conclusions: In the EXCEL trial, the relative risks for the 30-day and five-year primary composite outcome of death, MI or stroke after PCI versus CABG were consistent irrespective of geography. However, five-year rates of IDR after PCI were significantly higher in NA centres, a finding the Heart Team and patients should consider when making treatment decisions. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01205776.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to review the UK national trends in activity and outcome in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) over a 15-year period (2002-2016)., Methods: Validated data collected (2002-2016) and uploaded to National Institute for Cardiovascular Outcomes Research were used to generate summary data from the National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit Database for the analysis. Logistic European System of Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation was used for risk stratification with recalibration applied for governance. Data were analysed by financial year and presented as numerical, categorical, %, mean and standard deviation where appropriate. Mortality was recorded as death in hospital at any time after index CABG operation., Results: A total of 347 626 CABG procedures (282 883 isolated CABG, 61 109 CABG and valve and 4132 redo CABG) were recorded. Over this period annual activity reduced from 66.6% of workload to 41.7%. The mean age for isolated CABG was 65.7 years. The mean log European System of Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation was 3.1, 5.9 and 23.2 for elective, urgent and emergency isolated CABG, respectively. There was a decline in the observed mortality for all procedures. Overall mortality for isolated CABG surgery is now 1.0% and only 0.6% for elective operations., Conclusions: Quality of care and risk-adjusted mortality rates have consistently improved over the last 15 years despite the increasing risk profile of patients. There have been a consistent decline in overall case volumes and a three-fold increase in elderly cases., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) management is based on combined pharmacological and lifestyle intervention approaches. While their clinical benefits are well studied, less is known about their effects on the gut microbiota. We aimed to investigate if an intensive lifestyle intervention combined with conventional standard care leads to a different gut microbiota composition compared to standard care alone treatment in individuals with T2D, and if gut microbiota is associated with the clinical benefits of the treatments. Ninety-eight individuals with T2D were randomized to either an intensive lifestyle intervention combined with standard care group (N = 64), or standard care alone group (N = 34) for 12 months. All individuals received standardized, blinded, target-driven medical therapy, and individual counseling. The lifestyle intervention group moreover received intensified physical training and dietary plans. Clinical characteristics and fecal samples were collected at baseline, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up. The gut microbiota was profiled with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. There were no statistical differences in the change of gut microbiota composition between treatments after 12 months, except minor and transient differences at month 3. The shift in gut microbiota alpha diversity at all time windows did not correlate with the change in clinical characteristics, and the gut microbiota did not mediate the treatment effect on clinical characteristics. The clinical benefits of intensive lifestyle and/or pharmacological interventions in T2D are unlikely to be explained by, or causally related to, changes in the gut microbiota composition.

Background: Selection of appropriate patients for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) can be challenging. Many factors can influence post-procedure outcomes. Traditional surgical scoring systems do not discriminate effectively. Medical parameters and functional indices can characterize mortality risk. Mobility is an important predictive functional index but is largely defined using subjective criteria., Aim: To describe the relationship between mobility, objectively defined by the requirement for gait aids to ambulate, and all-cause 30-day and long-term mortality in patients undergoing TAVI., Methods: Mobility aid use was assessed in 1444 consecutive patients undergoing TAVI in a single center. Patients were categorized into "unaided," "1-stick," and "higher aid" groups based on the Brighton Mobility Index. Mortality tracking was obtained via the NHS Spine Portal in February 2021., Results: Patients were aged 82 (IQR 78-86). 66% of patients walked unaided, 26% walked with 1 stick, and 8% required more assistance (e.g., 2 sticks, a Rollator, a Zimmer frame, or a wheelchair). Overall 30-day mortality for the whole cohort was 3.5%; 1-year mortality was 12.2%. Mobility was a significant predictor of 30-day mortality (p = 0.025). Use of a higher aid was associated with a mortality odds ratio of 2.83 (95% CI: 1.39-5.74). Mobility was also a significant predictor of long-term mortality (p < 0.001). Odds ratios for 1-stick and higher aid groups were 1.45 (95% CI: 1.21-1.72) and 2.01 (95% CI: 1.55-2.60), respectively., Conclusion: Objective assessment of mobility by gait aid use predicts both short and long-term survival in patients undergoing TAVI. Increased dependence on mobility aids is associated with a worse prognosis., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Objectives: The risk of brain injury following surgery for type A aortic dissection (TAAD) remains substantial and no consensus has still been reached on which neuroprotective technique should be preferred. We aimed to investigate the association between neuroprotective strategies and clinical outcomes following TAAD repair., Methods: Using the UK National Adult Cardiac Surgical Audit, we identified 1929 patients undergoing surgery for TAAD (2011-2018). Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (DHCA) only, unilateral (uACP), bilateral antegrade cerebral perfusion (bACP) and retrograde cerebral perfusion were used in 830, 117, 760 and 222 patients, respectively. The primary end point was a composite of death and/or cerebrovascular accident (CVA). Generalized linear mixed model was used to adjust the effect of neuroprotective strategies for other confounders., Results: The use of bACP was associated with longer circulatory arrest (CA) compared to other strategies. There was a trend towards lower incidence of death and/or CVA using uACP only for shorter CA. In particular, primary end point rate was 27.7% overall and 26.5%, 12.5%, 28.0% and 22.9% for CA <30 min and 28.6%, 30.4%, 33.3% and 33.0% for CA ≥30 min with DHCA only, uACP, bACP and retrograde cerebral perfusion, respectively. The use of DHCA only was associated with five-fold [odds ratio (OR) 5.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.36-21.02] and two-fold (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.01-3.09) increased risk of death and/or CVA compared to uACP and bACP, respectively, but the effect of uACP was significantly associated with CA duration (hazard ratio 0.97, 95% CI 0.94-0.99; P = 0.04)., Conclusions: In TAAD repair, the use of uACP and bACP was associated with a lower adjusted risk of death and/or CVA when compared to DHCA. uACP can offer some advantage but only for a shorter CA duration., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.)

Objectives: Since the turn of the century, cardiac surgery has evolved quite notably. This study sought to investigate the trends in aortic valve surgery activity and subsequent outcomes in the UK by using a mandatory national cardiac surgical clinical database within the context of a comprehensive public healthcare system (National Health Service)., Methods: The UK National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit database provided data for aortic valve surgery procedures performed between 2002 and 2016, and the data were validated and cleaned using reproducible algorithms. The findings and trends in in activity and outcomes were then analysed by financial year., Results: During the study period, a total of 148 862 procedures were performed, with the number of cases per year peaking in 2014/2015 at 12 483. The mean in-hospital mortality rate for all aortic valve surgery has fallen from 5.6% to 3.4%, despite an increase in patient age and mean logistic EuroSCORE. While the number of isolated aortic valve replacements has remained stable at around 5000 per year, aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft have increased to over 3200 with transcatheter aortic valve implantation activity continuing to increase., Conclusions: This study demonstrates that despite an increase in patient risk profile, there has been a consistent reduction in in-hospital mortality within all aortic valve surgery procedures performed in the UK over a 15-year period. Increasing catheter-based interventions have not yet resulted in a significant decrease in surgical aortic valve replacements in the UK., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.)

The arms race between (bacterio)phages and their hosts is a recognised hot spot for genome evolution. Indeed, phages and their components have historically paved the way for many molecular biology techniques and biotech applications. Further exploration into their complex lifestyles has revealed that phages are often parasitised by distinct types of hyperparasitic mobile genetic elements. These so-called phage satellites exploit phages to ensure their own propagation and horizontal transfer into new bacterial hosts, and their prevalence and peculiar lifestyle has caught the attention of many researchers. Here, we review the parasite-host dynamics of the known phage satellites, their genomic organisation and their hijacking mechanisms. Finally, we discuss how these elements can be repurposed for diverse biotech applications, kindling a new catalogue of exciting tools for microbiology and synthetic biology., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of FEMS. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objectives: To date the reported outcomes of surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) are mainly in the settings of trials comparing it with evolving transcatheter aortic valve implantation. We set out to examine characteristics and outcomes in people who underwent SAVR reflecting a national cohort and therefore 'real-world' practice., Design: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of consecutive people who underwent SAVR with or without coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery between April 2013 and March 2018 in the UK. This included elective, urgent and emergency operations. Participants' demographics, preoperative risk factors, operative data, in-hospital mortality, postoperative complications and effect of the addition of CABG to SAVR were analysed., Setting: 27 (90%) tertiary cardiac surgical centres in the UK submitted their data for analysis., Participants: 31 277 people with AVR were identified. 19 670 (62.9%) had only SAVR and 11 607 (37.1%) had AVR+CABG., Results: In-hospital mortality for isolated SAVR was 1.9% (95% CI 1.6% to 2.1%) and was 2.4% for AVR+CABG. Mortality by age category for SAVR only were: <60 years=2.0%, 60-75 years=1.5%, >75 years=2.2%. For SAVR+CABG these were; 2.2%, 1.8% and 3.1%. For different categories of EuroSCORE, mortality for SAVR in low risk people was 1.3%, in intermediate risk 1% and for high risk 3.9%. 74.3% of the operations were elective, 24% urgent and 1.7% emergency/salvage. The incidences of resternotomy for bleeding and stroke were 3.9% and 1.1%, respectively. Multivariable analyses provided no evidence that concomitant CABG influenced outcome. However, urgency of the operation, poor ventricular function, higher EuroSCORE and longer cross clamp and cardiopulmonary bypass times adversely affected outcomes., Conclusions: Surgical SAVR±CABG has low mortality risk and a low level of complications in the UK in people of all ages and risk factors. These results should inform consideration of treatment options in people with aortic valve disease., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Plasmids facilitate rapid bacterial adaptation by shuttling a wide variety of beneficial traits across microbial communities. However, under non-selective conditions, maintaining a plasmid can be costly to the host cell. Nonetheless, plasmids are ubiquitous in nature where bacteria adopt their dominant mode of life - biofilms. Here, we demonstrate that biofilms can act as spatiotemporal reserves for plasmids, allowing them to persist even under non-selective conditions. However, under these conditions, spatial stratification of plasmid-carrying cells may promote the dispersal of cells without plasmids, and biofilms may thus act as plasmid sinks., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Objectives: To determine whether a permanent pacemaker (PPM) in situ can enhance survival after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), in a predominantly inoperable or high risk cohort., Background: New conduction disturbances are the most frequent complication of TAVI, often necessitating PPM implantation before hospital discharge., Methods: We performed an observational cohort analysis of the UK TAVI registry (2007-2015). Primary and secondary endpoints were 30-day post-discharge all-cause mortality and long-term survival, respectively., Results: Of 8,651 procedures, 6,815 complete datasets were analyzed. A PPM at hospital discharge, irrespective of when implantation occurred (PPM 1.68% [22/1309] vs. no PPM 1.47% [81/5506], odds ratio [OR] 1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.71-1.84; p = .58), or a PPM implanted peri- or post-TAVI only (PPM 1.44% [11/763] vs. no PPM 1.47% [81/5506], OR 0.98 [0.51-1.85]; p = .95) did not significantly reduce the primary endpoint. Patients with a PPM at discharge were older, male, had right bundle branch block at baseline, were more likely to have received a first-generation self-expandable prosthesis and had experienced more peri- and post-procedural complications including bailout valve-in-valve rescue, bleeding and acute kidney injury. A Cox proportional hazards model demonstrated significantly reduced long-term survival in all those with a PPM, irrespective of implantation timing (hazard ratio [HR] 1.14 [1.02-1.26]; p = .019) and those receiving a PPM only at the time of TAVI (HR 1.15 [1.02-1.31]; p = .032). The reasons underlying this observation warrant further investigation., Conclusions: A PPM did not confer a survival advantage in the first 30 days after hospital discharge following TAVI., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

We here describe sequencing and assembly of both the autosomes and the sex chromosome in Micropoecilia picta, the closest related species to the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. Poecilia (Micropoecilia) picta is a close outgroup for studying the guppy, an important organism for studies in evolutionary ecology and in sex chromosome evolution. The guppy XY pair (LG12) has long been studied as a test case for the importance of sexually antagonistic variants in selection for suppressed recombination between Y and X chromosomes. The guppy Y chromosome is not degenerated, but appears to carry functional copies of all genes that are present on its X counterpart. The X chromosomes of M. picta (and its relative Micropoecilia parae) are homologous to the guppy XY pair, but their Y chromosomes are highly degenerated, and no genes can be identified in the fully Y-linked region. A complete genome sequence of a M. picta male may therefore contribute to understanding how the guppy Y evolved. These fish species' genomes are estimated to be about 750 Mb, with high densities of repetitive sequences, suggesting that long-read sequencing is needed. We evaluated several assembly approaches, and used our results to investigate the extent of Y chromosome degeneration in this species., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.)

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is maturing as a treatment option and is now often undertaken during an unscheduled index hospital admission. The aim of this study was to look at procedural and mid-term outcomes of patients undergoing elective versus urgent in-hospital transcatheter aortic valve implantation., Methods: We identified a total of 1,157 patients who underwent TAVI between November 2007 and November 2019 at the Sussex Cardiac Centre in the UK. We compared the demographics, procedural outcomes, 30-day and 1-year mortality between elective and urgent patients. Emergency and salvage TAVI cases were excluded., Results: Of the 1,157 patients who underwent the procedure, 975 (84.3%) had elective while 182 (15.7%) had urgent TAVI. Predominant aortic stenosis was more frequent in elective patients (91.7% vs. 77.4%); p < .01), while predominant aortic regurgitation was seen more commonly in the urgent group (11.5% vs. 4.2%; p < .01). Implantation success was similar between the elective (99.1%) and urgent group (99.4%). In-hospital (1.65% vs. 1.3%: p .11), 30 day (3.5% vs. 3.3%: p .81) and 1 year (10.9% vs. 11%; p .81) mortality rates were similar in the elective and urgent groups, respectively., Conclusions: In contemporary practice, urgent TAVI undertaken on the index admission can be performed at similar risk to elective outpatient TAVI., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Urbanization is linked with an increased burden of asthma and atopic traits. A putative mechanism is insufficient exposure to beneficial microbes early in life, leading to immune dysregulation, as was previously shown for indoor microbial exposures., Objective: Our aim was to investigate whether urbanization is associated with the microbiota composition in the infants' body and early immune function, and whether these contribute to the later risk of asthma and atopic traits., Methods: We studied the prospective Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 2010 mother-child cohort of 700 children growing up in areas with different degrees of urbanization. During their first year of life, airway and gut microbiotas, as well as immune marker concentrations, were defined. When the children were 6 years of age, asthma and atopic traits were diagnosed by pediatricians., Results: In adjusted analyses, the risk of asthma and aeroallergen sensitization were increased in urban infants. The composition of especially airway but also gut microbiotas differed between urban and rural infants. The living environment-related structure of the airway microbiota was already associated with immune mediator concentrations at 1 month of age. An urbanized structure of the airway and gut microbiotas was associated with an increased risk of asthma coherently during multiple time points and also with the risks of eczema and sensitization., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that urbanization-related changes in the infant microbiota may elevate the risk of asthma and atopic traits, probably via cross talk with the developing immune system. The airways may facilitate this effect, as they are open for colonization by environmental airborne microbes and serve as an immune interface., (Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an accelerating global threat, yet the nature of AMR in the gut microbiome and how AMR is acquired during early life remain largely unknown. In a cohort of 662 Danish children, we characterized the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) acquired during the first year of life and assessed the impacts of diverse environmental exposures on ARG load. Our study reveals a clear bimodal distribution of ARG richness that is driven by the composition of the gut microbiome, especially E. coli. ARG profiles were significantly affected by various environmental factors. Among these factors, the importance of antibiotics diminished with time since treatment. Finally, ARG load and ARG clusters were also associated with the maturity of the gut microbiome and a bacterial composition associated with increased risk of asthma. These findings broaden our understanding of AMR in early life and have critical implications for efforts to mitigate its spread., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Little is known about variations in care and outcomes of patients undergoing surgical repair for type A aortic dissection(TAAD). We aim to investigate decade-long trends in TAAD surgical repair in England., Methods: Retrospective review of the National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit, which prospectively collects demographic and peri‑operative information for all major adult cardiac surgery procedures performed in the UK. We identified patients undergoing surgery for TAAD from January 2009-December 2018, reviewed trends in operative frequency, patient demographics, and mortality., Findings: Over the 10-year period,3,680 TAAD patients underwent surgical repair in England. A doubling in the overall number of operations conducted in England was observed (235 cases in 2009 to 510 in 2018). Number of procedures per hospital per year also doubled(9 in 2009 to 23 in 2018). Overall, in-hospital mortality was 17.4% with a trend toward lower mortality in recent years(23% in 2009 to 14.7% in 2018). There was a significant variation in operative mortality between hospitals and surgeons. We also found that most patients presented towards the middle of the week and during winter., Interpretation: Surgery is the only treatment for acute TAAD but is associated with high mortality. Prompt diagnosis and referral to a specialist center is paramount. The number of operations conducted in England has doubled in 10 years and the associated survival has improved. Variations exist in service provision with a trend towards better survival in high volume centers., Funding: British Heart Foundation and NIHR Biomedical Research center(University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and University of Bristol)., Competing Interests: Authors have no conflict of interests to declare., (© 2021 The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: Disclosure: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Background: Viruses are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, known to be crucial components of microbial ecosystems. However, there is little information on the viral community within agricultural waste. There are currently ~ 2.7 million dairy cattle in the UK producing 7-8% of their own bodyweight in manure daily, and 28 million tonnes annually. To avoid pollution of UK freshwaters, manure must be stored and spread in accordance with guidelines set by DEFRA. Manures are used as fertiliser, and widely spread over crop fields, yet little is known about their microbial composition. We analysed the virome of agricultural slurry over a 5-month period using short and long-read sequencing., Results: Hybrid sequencing uncovered more high-quality viral genomes than long or short-reads alone; yielding 7682 vOTUs, 174 of which were complete viral genomes. The slurry virome was highly diverse and dominated by lytic bacteriophage, the majority of which represent novel genera (~ 98%). Despite constant influx and efflux of slurry, the composition and diversity of the slurry virome was extremely stable over time, with 55% of vOTUs detected in all samples over a 5-month period. Functional annotation revealed a diverse and abundant range of auxiliary metabolic genes and novel features present in the community, including the agriculturally relevant virulence factor VapE, which was widely distributed across different phage genera that were predicted to infect several hosts. Furthermore, we identified an abundance of phage-encoded diversity-generating retroelements, which were previously thought to be rare on lytic viral genomes. Additionally, we identified a group of crAssphages, including lineages that were previously thought only to be found in the human gut., Conclusions: The cattle slurry virome is complex, diverse and dominated by novel genera, many of which are not recovered using long or short-reads alone. Phages were found to encode a wide range of AMGs that are not constrained to particular groups or predicted hosts, including virulence determinants and putative ARGs. The application of agricultural slurry to land may therefore be a driver of bacterial virulence and antimicrobial resistance in the environment. Video abstract.

Objectives: We sought to identify baseline demographics and procedural factors that might independently predict in-hospital stroke following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI)., Background: Stroke is a recognized, albeit infrequent, complication of TAVI. Established predictors of procedure-related in-hospital stroke; however, remain poorly defined., Methods: We conducted an observational cohort analysis of the multicenter UK TAVI registry. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of in-hospital stroke., Results: A total of 8,652 TAVI procedures were performed from 2007 to 2015. There were 205 in-hospital strokes reported by participating centers equivalent to an overall stroke incidence of 2.4%. Univariate analysis showed that the implantation of balloon-expandable valves caused significantly fewer strokes (balloon-expandable 96/4,613 [2.08%] vs. self-expandable 95/3,272 [2.90%]; p = .020). After multivariable analysis, prior cerebrovascular disease (CVD) (odds ratio [OR] 1.51, 95% confidence interval [CI 1.05-2.17]; p = .03), advanced age at time of operation (OR 1.02 [0.10-1.04]; p = .05), bailout coronary stenting (OR 5.94 [2.03-17.39]; p = .008), and earlier year of procedure (OR 0.93 [0.87-1.00]; p = .04) were associated with an increased in-hospital stroke risk. There was a reduced stroke risk in those who had prior cardiac surgery (OR 0.62 [0.41-0.93]; p = .01) and a first-generation balloon-expandable valve implanted (OR 0.72 [0.53-0.97]; p = .03). In-hospital stroke significantly increased 30-day (OR 5.22 [3.49-7.81]; p < .001) and 1-year mortality (OR 3.21 [2.15-4.78]; p < .001)., Conclusions: In-hospital stroke after TAVI is associated with substantially increased early and late mortality. Factors independently associated with in-hospital stroke were previous CVD, advanced age, no prior cardiac surgery, and deployment of a predominantly first-generation self-expandable transcatheter heart valve., (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a proven treatment for life-threatening aortic valve disease, predominantly severe aortic stenosis. However, even among developed nations, access to TAVI is not uniform. The Valve for Life initiative was launched by the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions in 2015 with the objective of improving access to transcatheter valve interventions across Europe. The UK has been identified as a country with low penetration of these procedures and has been selected as the fourth nation to be included in the initiative. Specifically, the number of TAVI procedures carried out in the UK is significantly lower than almost all other European nations. Furthermore, there is substantial geographical inequity in access to TAVI within the UK. As a consequence of this underprovision, waiting times for TAVI are long, and mortality among those waiting intervention is significant. This article reviews these issues, reports new data on access to TAVI in the UK and presents the proposals of the UK Valve for Life team to address the current problems in association with the British Cardiovascular Intervention Society., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective(s): Negative pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE) is a rare perioperative complication with a potentially fatal outcome. The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of NPPE in adult otolaryngology procedures with the goal of identifying risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnosis, management and outcomes., Methods: Systematic review performed using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases., Results: Sixty-nine studies including data from 87 individual patients were included in this review. Fifty-six (68%) patients were male and the average patient age was 37 years old. Type 1 NPPE occurred in 63 (72%) cases, while type 2 NPPE accounted for 20 (23%) cases. The most common procedures leading to NPPE were septoplasty, rhinoplasty or sinus surgery (n = 22, 25%), directly laryngoscopy or bronchoscopy (n = 13, 15%), and tracheostomy or cricothyroidotomy (n = 11, 13%). The most employed treatment options included diuretics (n = 55, 63%) and mechanical ventilation (n = 54, 62%). Seventy-eight (90%) patients made a full recovery with an average time to NPPE resolution of 33 hours and an average length of hospitalization of 5.6 days. Five (6%) patients had a long-term morbidity and four (5%) patients died, with age and ICU stay increasing risk for death and long-term morbidity (OR 1.044 and 7.42, respectively, P  < .05)., Conclusion: Septoplasty, rhinoplasty and sinus surgery account for the majority of NPPE cases in adult otolaryngology procedures. Young, healthy patients are the most commonly involved with a slight male predominance. The vast majority of patients recover fully, however there is a significant risk for morbidity and mortality.

Objectives: Cardiac surgery has evolved significantly since the turn of the century. The objective of this study was to investigate trends in cardiac surgery activity and outcomes in the United Kingdom utilizing a mandatory national cardiac surgical clinical database in the context of a comprehensive public health care system (ie, the UK National Health Service)., Methods: Data for all cardiac surgery procedures performed between 2002 and 2016 were extracted from the UK National Adult Cardiac Surgery Audit database. Data are validated and cleaned using reproducible algorithms. Trends in activity and outcomes were analyzed by fiscal year using linear regression., Results: A total of 534,067 procedures were performed during the study period with the number of cases per year peaking in 2008/2009 at 41,426. Despite an increase in patient age and mean logistic European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation score, the in-hospital mortality rate for all cardiac surgery has fallen from 4.0% to 2.8% ( P  < .001). The number of isolated coronary artery bypass graft procedures has steadily declined but the total number of valve procedures has steadily increased (both P values < .001). The number of thoracic aortic procedures performed each year has doubled ( P  < .001), but the incidence of redo procedures has steadily declined. The proportion of emergency and salvage procedures has remained stable., Conclusions: This study, which covers all cardiac surgery procedures performed in the United Kingdom for fiscal years between 2002 and 2016, demonstrates that despite an increase in patient risk profile, there has been a consistent reduction in in-hospital mortality. A number of other markers associated with quality have also improved., (© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery.)

Eukaryotic chromosomes have phylogenetic persistence. In many taxa, each chromosome has a single functional centromere with essential roles in spindle attachment and segregation. Fusion and fission can generate chromosomes with no or multiple centromeres, leading to genome instability. Groups with holocentric chromosomes (where centromeric function is distributed along each chromosome) might be expected to show karyotypic instability. This is generally not the case, and in Caenorhabditis elegans, it has been proposed that the role of maintenance of a stable karyotype has been transferred to the meiotic pairing centers, which are found at one end of each chromosome. Here, we explore the phylogenetic stability of nematode chromosomes using a new telomere-to-telomere assembly of the rhabditine nematode Oscheius tipulae generated from nanopore long reads. The 60-Mb O. tipulae genome is resolved into six chromosomal molecules. We find the evidence of specific chromatin diminution at all telomeres. Comparing this chromosomal O. tipulae assembly with chromosomal assemblies of diverse rhabditid nematodes, we identify seven ancestral chromosomal elements (Nigon elements) and present a model for the evolution of nematode chromosomes through rearrangement and fusion of these elements. We identify frequent fusion events involving NigonX, the element associated with the rhabditid X chromosome, and thus sex chromosome-associated gene sets differ markedly between species. Despite the karyotypic stability, gene order within chromosomes defined by Nigon elements is not conserved. Our model for nematode chromosome evolution provides a platform for investigation of the tensions between local genome rearrangement and karyotypic evolution in generating extant genome architectures., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Genetics Society of America.)

Background: The upper airways present a barrier to inhaled allergens and microbes, which alter immune responses and subsequent risk for diseases, such as allergic rhinitis (AR)., Objective: We tested the hypothesis that early-life microbial exposures leave a lasting signature in DNA methylation that ultimately influences the development of AR in children., Methods: We studied upper airway microbiota at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months of life, and measured DNA methylation and gene expression profiles in upper airway mucosal cells and assessed AR at age 6 years in children in the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood birth cohort., Results: We identified 956 AR-associated differentially methylated CpGs in upper airway mucosal cells at age 6 years, 792 of which formed 3 modules of correlated differentially methylated CpGs. The eigenvector of 1 module was correlated with the expression of genes enriched for lysosome and bacterial invasion of epithelial cell pathways. Early-life microbial diversity was lower at 1 week (richness P = .0079) in children with AR at age 6 years, and reduced diversity at 1 week was also correlated with the same module's eigenvector (ρ = -0.25; P = 3.3 × 10 -5 ). We show that the effect of microbiota richness at 1 week on risk for AR at age 6 years was mediated in part by the epigenetic signature of this module., Conclusions: Our results suggest that upper airway microbial composition in infancy contributes to the development of AR during childhood, and this trajectory is mediated, at least in part, through altered DNA methylation patterns in upper airway mucosal cells., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Organic solvent-tolerant lipase-producing microorganisms were isolated from petrol spilled soil. From ten morphologically distinct lipase-producing bacterial isolates, highest amount of lipase-producing isolate UBT1 was identified as Acinetobacter sp. using 16S rRNA gene sequencing (NCBI Accession No: MH879815). An increase in lipase production from 42 U/mL to 243 U/mL was obtained when different deoiled seed cakes were supplemented instead of olive oil in the medium. Further optimization of media components by the statistical approach assisted in discerning the main influencing media components and their optimum concentrations. Nine components glucose, castor seedcake, potassium nitrate, gum arabic, calcium chloride, magnesium sulphate, potassium di-hydrogen phosphate, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, and ferric chloride were selected for Plackett-Burman design. The optimum concentrations of three significant selected components for the lipase production were found to be 0.025 gm% glucose, 0.002 gm% calcium chloride, and 0.2 gm% potassium di-hydrogen phosphate as determined by Response Surface Methodology. Increase in lipase production with 292.29 U/mL was achieved in the media containing optimized components and 2 gm% deoiled castor seed cake. Purification studies with ammonium sulphate precipitation, dialysis, and gel permeation chromatography resulted in 77.54% recovery with 5.77-fold partially purified lipase. The residual activity of lipase in 50 and 75% concentration of n-hexane among other solvents after 24 h was 105.05 and 90.42%, respectively, indicating its solvent tolerance. The present study reports the isolation of organic solvent-tolerant lipase-producing Acinetobacter sp. UBT1, optimization of the culture media for lipase production using the deoiled castor seed cake, and its partial purification., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestOn behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest., (© King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology 2020.)

Staphylococcus aureus is a prominent etiological agent of suppurative abscesses. In principle, abscess formation and purulent exudate are classical physiological features of healing and tissue repair. However, S. aureus deploys two coagulases that can usurp this classical host response and form distinct abscess lesions. Here, we establish that during coinfection with coagulase producers and non-producers, coagulases are shared public goods that contribute to staphylococcal persistence, abscess formation, and disease progression. Coagulase-negative mutants that do not produce the public goods themselves are able to exploit those cooperatively secreted by producers and thereby thrive during coinfection at the expense of others. This study shows the importance of social interactions among pathogens concerning clinical outcomes.

There have been reports of associations between cesarean section delivery and the risk of childhood asthma, potentially mediated through changes in the gut microbiota. We followed 700 children in the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 (COPSAC 2010 ) cohort prospectively from birth. We examined the effects of cesarean section delivery on gut microbial composition by 16 S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing during the first year of life. We then explored whether gut microbial perturbations due to delivery mode were associated with a risk of developing asthma in the first 6 years of life. Delivery by cesarean section was accompanied by marked changes in gut microbiota composition at one week and one month of age, but by one year of age only minor differences persisted compared to vaginal delivery. Increased asthma risk was found in children born by cesarean section only if their gut microbiota composition at 1 year of age still retained a cesarean section microbial signature, suggesting that appropriate maturation of the gut microbiota could mitigate against the increased asthma risk associated with gut microbial changes due to cesarean section delivery., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.)

Background: Glass tables can break and cause traumatic injury. This public health issue is avoidable by adequate regulatory measures. We describe the burden and characteristics of these injuries using the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database and data from a level 1 trauma center., Methods: NEISS data was extracted from 2009 to 2015. Injuries were classified by type, severity, and involvement of faulty glass using predetermined criteria. A retrospective chart review of a level 1 trauma center data was performed. Epidemiologic and outcomes data are reported., Results: 3241 cases were reviewed from NEISS. 56% of injuries were attributable to faulty tables. 15% were severe. A bimodal age distribution of age under 7 and early 20s was observed. Commonly injured areas were the upper extremity and forehead. 24 trauma center cases were reviewed. 21% presented with hemodynamic instability, 34% had major organ, body cavity or joint space injuries, and 58% required surgical intervention. 30-day mortality rate was 8%. More than 54% required inpatient care., Conclusion: Glass table injuries are common, estimated at over 2.5 million per year. Regulation of glass quality may prevent injury., Summary: Glass table injuries are more common than may be recognized and represent a public health problem that can be mitigated through proper regulatory measures., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this work., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Opportunistic pathogens are associated with a number of chronic human infections, yet the evolution of virulence in these organisms during chronic infection remains poorly understood. Here, we tested the evolution of virulence in the human opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a murine chronic wound model using a two-part serial passage and sepsis experiment, and found that virulence evolved in different directions in each line of evolution. We also assessed P. aeruginosa adaptation to a chronic wound after 42 days of evolution and found that morphological diversity in our evolved populations was limited compared with that previously described in cystic fibrosis (CF) infections. Using whole-genome sequencing, we found that genes previously implicated in P. aeruginosa pathogenesis ( lasR , pilR , fleQ , rpoN and pvcA ) contained mutations during the course of evolution in wounds, with selection occurring in parallel across all lines of evolution. Our findings highlight that: (i) P. aeruginosa heterogeneity may be less extensive in chronic wounds than in CF lungs; (ii) genes involved in P. aeruginosa pathogenesis acquire mutations during chronic wound infection; (iii) similar genetic adaptations are employed by P. aeruginosa across multiple infection environments; and (iv) current models of virulence may not adequately explain the diverging evolutionary trajectories observed in an opportunistic pathogen during chronic wound infection.

Background: The need for permanent pacemaker implantation (PPI) following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is a recognized complication due to compression of the cardiac conduction system. PPI rates vary according to type of TAVI device, implantation technique, and patient-related factors., Methods: We analyzed the baseline characteristics, and then the preprocedure and daily postprocedure electrocardiograms (ECGs) of 101 consecutive patients who underwent TAVI using the Lotus valve (Boston Scientific) between 2013 and 2015., Results: Mean patient age was 81.7 ± 7.7 years, 56% were male. and 21 patients were excluded because of baseline atrial fibrillation or a pre-existing PPI. Of the remaining 80 patients, a total of 28 (35%) underwent PPI at a mean 2.7 days after TAVI. There were no differences in development of new left bundle-branch block between the two groups (65% PPI group vs 74% no-PPI group; P=.37). The initial PR interval did not differ between groups (183 ms PPI group vs 184 ms no-PPI group). The PR interval increased by day 1 post procedure (232 ms PPI group vs 195 ms no-PPI group; P<.01) and day 2 (267 ms PPI group vs 211 ms no-PPI group; P<.05)., Conclusions: Patients with a PR interval ≤230 ms on day 1 or ≤260 ms on day 2 post TAVI using the Lotus device are at very low risk of requiring PPI, irrespective of the presence of left bundle-branch block, and can be safely discharged without prolonged monitoring.

Background: From early life, children are exposed to a multitude of environmental exposures, which may be of crucial importance for healthy development. Here, the environmental microbiota may be of particular interest as it represents the interface between environmental factors and the child. As infants in modern societies spend a considerable amount of time indoors, we hypothesize that the indoor bed dust microbiota might be an important factor for the child and for the early colonization of the airway microbiome. To explore this hypothesis, we analyzed the influence of environmental exposures on 577 dust samples from the beds of infants together with 542 airway samples from the Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood 2010 cohort., Results: Both bacterial and fungal community was profiled from the bed dust. Bacterial and fungal diversity in the bed dust was positively correlated with each other. Bacterial bed dust microbiota was influenced by multiple environmental factors, such as type of home (house or apartment), living environment (rural or urban), sex of siblings, and presence of pets (cat and/or dog), whereas fungal bed dust microbiota was majorly influenced by the type of home (house or apartment) and sampling season. We further observed minor correlation between bed dust and airway microbiota compositions among infants. We also analyzed the transfer of microbiota from bed dust to the airway, but we did not find evidence of transfer of individual taxa., Conclusions: Current study explores the influence of environmental factors on bed dust microbiota (both bacterial and fungal) and its correlation with airway microbiota (bacterial) in early life using high-throughput sequencing. Our findings demonstrate that bed dust microbiota is influenced by multiple environmental exposures and could represent an interface between environment and child. Video Abstract.

Background: The hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) is a highly social primate that lives in complex multilevel societies exhibiting a wide range of group behaviors akin to humans. In contrast to the widely studied human microbiome, there is a paucity of information on the host-associated microbiomes of nonhuman primates (NHPs). Here, our goal was to understand the microbial composition throughout different body sites of cohabiting baboons., Results: We analyzed 170 oral, oropharyngeal, cervical, uterine, vaginal, nasal and rectal samples from 16 hamadryas baboons via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Additionally, raw Miseq sequencing data from 1041 comparable publicly available samples from the human oral cavity, gut and vagina were reanalyzed using the same pipeline. We compared the baboon and human microbiome of the oral cavity, gut and vagina, showing that the baboon microbiome is distinct from the human. Baboon cohabitants share similar microbial profiles in their cervix, uterus, vagina, and gut. The oral cavity, gut and vagina shared more bacterial amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) in group living baboons than in humans. The shared ASVs had significantly positive correlations between most body sites, suggesting a potential bacterial exchange throughout the body. No significant differences in gut microbiome composition were detected within the maternity line and between maternity lines, suggesting that the offspring gut microbiota is shaped primarily through bacterial exchange among cohabitants. Finally, Lactobacillus was not so predominant in baboon vagina as in the human vagina but was the most abundant genus in the baboon gut., Conclusions: This study is the first to provide comprehensive analyses of the baboon microbiota across different body sites. We contrast this to human body sites and find substantially different microbiomes. This group of cohabitating baboons generally showed higher microbial diversity and remarkable similarities between body sites than were observed in humans. These data and findings from one group of baboons can form the basis of future microbiome studies in baboons and be used as a reference in research where the microbiome is expected to impact human modeling with baboons.

Background: Surgical subclavian (SC) and direct aortic (DA) access are established alternatives to the default transfemoral route for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We sought to find differences in survival and procedure-related outcomes after SC- versus DA-TAVI., Methods: We performed an observational cohort analysis of cases prospectively uploaded to the UK TAVI registry. To ensure the most contemporaneous comparison, the analysis focused on SC and DA procedures performed from 2013 to 2015., Results: Between January 2013 and July 2015, 82 (37%) SC and 142 (63%) DA cases were performed that had validated 1-year life status. Multivariable regression analysis showed procedure duration was longer for SC cases (SC 193.5 ± 65.8 vs. DA 138.4 ± 57.7 min; p < .01) but length of hospital stay was shorter (SC 8.6 ± 9.5 vs. DA 11.9 ± 10.8 days; p = .03). Acute kidney injury was observed less frequently after SC cases (odds ratio [OR] 0.35, 95% confidence interval [CI 0.12-0.96]; p = .042) but vascular access site-related complications were more common (OR 9.75 [3.07-30.93]; p < .01). Procedure-related bleeding (OR 0.54 [0.24-1.25]; p = .15) and in-hospital stroke rate (SC 3.7% vs. DA 2.1%; p = .67) were similar. There were no significant differences in in-hospital (SC 2.4% vs. DA 4.9%; p = .49), 30-day (SC 2.4% vs. DA 4.2%; p = .71) or 1-year (SC 14.5% vs. DA 21.9%; p = .344) mortality., Conclusions: Surgical subclavian and direct aortic approaches can offer favourable outcomes in appropriate patients. Neither access modality conferred a survival advantage but there were significant differences in procedural metrics that might influence which approach is selected., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Aung Myat, Olympia Papachristofi, Uday Trivedi, Adam de Belder, James Cockburn, Andreas Baumbach, Michael Mullen, Mark de Belder, Ian Cox, Iqbal S. Malik, Peter Ludman and Linda Sharples report no conflicts to declare pertaining to this manuscript. Adrian P. Banning reports institutional funding from Boston Scientific for a Fellowship. Daniel J. Blackman is a Consultant and Proctor for Medtronic and Boston Scientific. Philip MacCarthy declares consulting/proctorship contracts with Edwards Lifesciences and research support from Boston Scientific. Douglas Muir is a Proctor for Edwards Lifesciences and Abbott Vascular. Jan Kovac is a Proctor and Consultant for Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Abbott. Stephen Brecker is a Clinical Advisor/Consultant for Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Abbott. Mark Turner is a proctor for Medtronic pulmonary valves currently, and has been a proctor for Edwards Lifesciences pulmonary valves in the past, but no longer holds a contract with them. He is also a Consultant and Advisory Board Member for St Jude (now Abbott), and has previously received educational meeting support from Edwards Lifesciences, Medtronic and Abbott. Saib Khogali is a Proctor for Boston Scientific and Medtronic. Simon Redwood declares Proctor and Lecture fees from Edwards Lifesciences. Bernard Prendergast declares unrestricted research grants and lecture fees from Edwards Lifesciences. David Hildick-Smith has advisory and proctoring contracts with Boston Scientific, Edwards and Medtronic., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is increasingly used in revascularisation of patients with left main coronary artery disease in place of the standard treatment, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The NOBLE trial aimed to evaluate whether PCI was non-inferior to CABG in the treatment of left main coronary artery disease and reported outcomes after a median follow-up of 3·1 years. We now report updated 5-year outcomes of the trial., Methods: The prospective, randomised, open-label, non-inferiority NOBLE trial was done at 36 hospitals in nine northern European countries. Patients with left main coronary artery disease requiring revascularisation were enrolled and randomly assigned (1:1) to receive PCI or CABG. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE), a composite of all-cause mortality, non-procedural myocardial infarction, repeat revascularisation, and stroke. Non-inferiority of PCI to CABG was defined as the upper limit of the 95% CI of the hazard ratio (HR) not exceeding 1·35 after 275 MACCE had occurred. Secondary endpoints included all-cause mortality, non-procedural myocardial infarction, and repeat revascularisation. Outcomes were analysed in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01496651., Findings: Between Dec 9, 2008, and Jan 21, 2015, 1201 patients were enrolled and allocated to PCI (n=598) or CABG (n=603), with 17 subsequently lost to early follow-up. 592 patients in each group were included in this analysis. At a median of 4·9 years of follow-up, the predefined number of events was reached for adequate power to assess the primary endpoint. Kaplan-Meier 5-year estimates of MACCE were 28% (165 events) for PCI and 19% (110 events) for CABG (HR 1·58 [95% CI 1·24-2·01]); the HR exceeded the limit for non-inferiority of PCI compared to CABG. CABG was found to be superior to PCI for the primary composite endpoint (p=0·0002). All-cause mortality was estimated in 9% after PCI versus 9% after CABG (HR 1·08 [95% CI 0·74-1·59]; p=0·68); non-procedural myocardial infarction was estimated in 8% after PCI versus 3% after CABG (HR 2·99 [95% CI 1·66-5·39]; p=0·0002); and repeat revascularisation was estimated in 17% after PCI versus 10% after CABG (HR 1·73 [95% CI 1·25-2·40]; p=0·0009)., Interpretation: In revascularisation of left main coronary artery disease, PCI was associated with an inferior clinical outcome at 5 years compared with CABG. Mortality was similar after the two procedures but patients treated with PCI had higher rates of non-procedural myocardial infarction and repeat revascularisation., Funding: Biosensors., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Evolutionary adaptation is generally thought to occur through incremental mutational steps, but large mutational leaps can occur during its early stages. These are challenging to study in nature due to the difficulty of observing new genetic variants as they arise and spread, but characterizing their genomic dynamics is important for understanding factors favoring rapid adaptation. Here, we report genomic consequences of recent, adaptive song loss in a Hawaiian population of field crickets ( Teleogryllus oceanicus ). A discrete genetic variant, flatwing , appeared and spread approximately 15 years ago. Flatwing erases sound-producing veins on male wings. These silent flatwing males are protected from a lethal, eavesdropping parasitoid fly. We sequenced, assembled and annotated the cricket genome, produced a linkage map, and identified a flatwing quantitative trait locus covering a large region of the X chromosome. Gene expression profiling showed that flatwing is associated with extensive genome-wide effects on embryonic gene expression. We found that flatwing male crickets express feminized chemical pheromones. This male feminizing effect, on a different sexual signaling modality, is genetically associated with the flatwing genotype. Our findings suggest that the early stages of evolutionary adaptation to extreme pressures can be accompanied by greater genomic and phenotypic disruption than previously appreciated, and highlight how abrupt adaptation might involve suites of traits that arise through pleiotropy or genomic hitchhiking., (© 2019 The Authors. Evolution Letters published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for the Study of Evolution (SSE) and European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB).)

Most animal species reproduce sexually and fully parthenogenetic lineages are usually short lived in evolution. Still, parthenogenesis may be advantageous as it avoids the cost of sex and permits colonization by single individuals. Panagrolaimid nematodes have colonized environments ranging from arid deserts to Arctic and Antarctic biomes. Many are obligatory meiotic parthenogens, and most have cryptobiotic abilities, being able to survive repeated cycles of complete desiccation and freezing. To identify systems that may contribute to these striking abilities, we sequenced and compared the genomes and transcriptomes of parthenogenetic and outcrossing panagrolaimid species, including cryptobionts and non-cryptobionts. The parthenogens are triploids, most likely originating through hybridization. Adaptation to cryptobiosis shaped the genomes of panagrolaimid nematodes and is associated with the expansion of gene families and signatures of selection on genes involved in cryptobiosis. All panagrolaimids have acquired genes through horizontal gene transfer, some of which are likely to contribute to cryptobiosis., (Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) of 16S rRNA gene is now one of the most widely used application to investigate the microbiota at any given body site in research. Since NGS is more sensitive than traditional culture methods (TCMs), many studies have argued for them to replace TCMs. However, are we really ready for this transition? Here we compare the diagnostic efficiency of the two methods using a large number of samples ( n  = 1,748 fecal and n  = 1,790 hypopharyngeal), among healthy children at different time points. Here we show that bacteria identified by NGS represented 75.70% of the unique bacterial species cultured in each sample, while TCM only identified 23.86% of the bacterial species found by amplicon sequencing. We discuss the pros and cons of both methods and provide perspective on how NGS can be implemented effectively in clinical settings., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.

Rann of Kachchh (RoK) is a unique geoformation, which is exposed to dynamic environmental changes such as salinity, temperature, and nutrients throughout the year. In this study, the pooled mat sample was examined for the cyanobacterial community structure using culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches. Taxonomic profiling was studied using amplicon sequencing that revealed the enrichment of Pseudanabaenales and Oscillatoriales by QIIME and MG-RAST, respectively. Other abundant orders were represented by Chroococcales, Nostocales, and unclassified cyanobacteria by both approaches. Nine cyanobacterial cultures were isolated from mat samples showing 90-98% similarities with available sequences in GenBank. The culture-dependent study suggested that mat was dominated by cyanobacterial orders such as Oscillatoriales-filamentous and Chroococcales-unicellular. Our results from the culture-dependent approach also indicated that despite high similarities in gene sequences, six cyanobacteria fall into the separate clade in the phylogenetic analysis that could be signs of evolution due to an extreme environment. Cultured isolates are correlated well with abundant taxa from amplicon sequencing. Further, protein profiling was done specifically for phycobiliproteins which will be helpful to elucidate their roles in light harvesting and energy transfer mechanism in the unique environment of RoK., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Cosmetology is the developing branch of science, having direct impact on the society. The cosmetic sector is interested in finding novel biological alternatives which can enhance the product attributes as well as it can substitute chemical compounds. Many of the compounds are having biological origin and are acquire from bacteria, fungi, and algae. A range of biological compounds, like bio-surfactant, vitamins, antioxidants, pigments, enzymes, peptides have promising features and beneficial properties. Moreover, these products can be produced commercially with ease. The review will encompass the importance and use of microbial compounds for new cosmetic formulations as well as products associated with it.

Binaural auralization through proper room-acoustic simulation can produce a realistic listening experience as if the listener were sitting in a room with spatial perception, including enveloping reverberance. Based on analysis of experimentally measured binaural room-acoustic data, this paper discusses an approach to creating artificial but natural-sounding reverberation for binaural rendering that can be employed in simulating such an environment in an efficient way. Approaches to adjusting the spaciousness of enveloping reverberance within the context of artificially generated reverberation are investigated via hearing tests. This paper exploits the excellent pseudorandom properties of maximum-length sequences to generate deterministic and controllable decorrelations between binaural channels for artificial reverberation for room-acoustic simulations with high computational efficiency. To achieve natural-sounding enveloping reverberance in an enclosed space, and thereby an immersive environment, the shapes of both the reverberation energy decays and the spatial characteristics are found to be decisive. This paper discusses systematic hearing test results that support the mentioned finding.

Coagulation is an innate defense mechanism intended to limit blood loss and trap invading pathogens during infection. However, Staphylococcus aureus has the ability to hijack the coagulation cascade and generate clots via secretion of coagulases. Although many S. aureus have this characteristic, some do not. The population dynamics regarding this defining trait have yet to be explored. We report here that coagulases are public goods that confer protection against antimicrobials and immune factors within a local population or community, thus promoting growth and virulence. By utilizing variants of a methicillin-resistant S. aureus we infer that the secretion of coagulases is a cooperative trait, which is subject to exploitation by invading mutants that do not produce the public goods themselves. However, overexploitation, "tragedy of the commons," does not occur at clinically relevant conditions. Our micrographs indicate this is due to spatial segregation and population viscosity. These findings emphasize the critical role of coagulases in a social evolution context and provide a possible explanation as to why the secretion of these public goods is maintained in mixed S. aureus communities., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Background: Macrolides are commonly prescribed for respiratory infections and asthma-like episodes in children. While their clinical benefits have been proved, concerns regarding the side-effects of their therapeutic use have been raised. Here we assess the short- and long-term impacts of azithromycin on the gut microbiota of young children., Methods: We performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in a group of children aged 12-36 months, diagnosed with recurrent asthma-like symptoms from the COPSAC 2010 cohort. Each acute asthma-like episode was randomized to a 3-day course of azithromycin oral solution of 10 mg/kg per day or placebo. Azithromycin reduced episode duration by half, which was the primary end-point and reported previously. The assessment of gut microbiota after treatment was the secondary end-point and reported in this study. Fecal samples were collected 14 days after randomization (N = 59, short-term) and again at age 4 years (N = 49, long-term, of whom N = 18 were placebo treated) and investigated by 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing., Findings: Short-term, azithromycin caused a 23% reduction in observed richness and 13% reduction in Shannon diversity. Microbiota composition was shifted primarily in the Actinobacteria phylum, especially a reduction of abundance in the genus Bifidobacterium. Long-term (13-39 months after treatment), we did not observe any differences between the azithromycin and placebo recipients in their gut microbiota composition., Interpretation: Azithromycin treatment induced a perturbation in the gut microbiota 14 days after randomization but did not have long-lasting effects on the gut microbiota composition. However, it should be noted that our analyses included a limited number of fecal samples for the placebo treated group at age 4 years. FUND: Lundbeck Foundation, Danish Ministry of Health, Danish Council for Strategic Research, Capital Region Research Foundation, China Scholarship Council., (Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)