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Introduction: Globalization has increased the importance of multicultural research to address health disparities and improve healthcare outcomes for underrepresented communities. The International Nursing Network for HIV Research (The Network) serves as a platform for researchers to collaborate on cross-cultural and cross-national HIV studies. This article discusses the Network's approach to overcoming barriers in multicultural and multinational research in a qualitative context., Methods: The network created a protocol to guide decision-making throughout the translation process of qualitative data collected from participants in their native languages. The protocol includes aspects of why, when, what, who, how, where, and by what means the translation is completed., Results: The protocol has allowed researchers to enhance the validity, reliability, and cultural sensitivity of translation process, ensuring the clarity and impact of their research findings., Discussion: Rigorous translation practices promote cross-cultural understanding and respect for participants' perspectives, fostering global collaborations and knowledge exchange., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), defined as ≥50 %, affects 1 to 3 % of the population and represents a diagnostic challenge. Clinical scores have been developed to facilitate the diagnosis of affected patients, who can now benefit from new treatments. Recent studies have shown a reduction in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality with sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors in this population. Other promising drugs, currently in the study phase, could potentially change the management approach in the near future. Finally, controlling symptoms, signs of congestion and the frequently encountered comorbidities in this population remain crucial., Competing Interests: P. Meyer a activement participé à des conseils consultatifs et des séminaires organisés par Abbott, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Pfizer, Servier et Vifor. Les honoraires perçus pour ces engagements ont été entièrement versés depuis 2015 à la fondation GEcor, fondation pour la recherche de la cardiologie universitaire de Genève. V. Valiton a participé à des conseils consultatifs organisés par AstraZeneca et des frais d’orateurs de Vifor et Pfizor. Les honoraires perçus pour ces engagements ont été entièrement versés à la fondation GEcor. N. K. Poku a activement participé à des séminaires organisés par Abbott, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, Servier et Vifor. Les honoraires perçus pour ces engagements ont été entièrement versés à la fondation GEcor. Les autres auteurs n’ont déclaré aucun conflit d’intérêts en relation avec cet article.

Background: Mental disorders are important comorbidities in youth with obesity. Aim was to describe the clinical characteristics and outcome of youth with overweight or obesity having comorbid mental disorders., Methods: Data from children, adolescents, and young adults (age 6-30 years) with overweight or obesity and mental disorders (depression, anxiety disorder, eating disorder, attention deficit disorder (ADHD)) from 226 centers in Germany and Austria participating in the Adiposity Patient Registry (APV) were analyzed and compared with those without reported mental disorders using regression modeling., Results: Mental health comorbidity was reported in a total of 3969 out of 114,248 individuals with overweight or obesity: 42.5% had ADHD, 31.3% anxiety disorders, 24.3% depression, and 12.9% eating disorders. Being male (OR 1.39 (95%CI 1.27;1.52)), of older age (1.42 (1.25;1.62)), or with extreme obesity (1.45 (1.30;1.63)) were most strongly associated with mental health comorbidity. Regression analysis showed that mean BMI-SDS was significantly higher in the group of individuals with depression and eating disorders (BMI-SDS 2.13 (lower; upper mean:2.09;2.16) and 2.22 (2.17;2.26)) compared to those without reported mental health comorbidity (BMI-SDS 2.008 (2.005;2.011); p < 0.001). In youth with ADHD, BMI-SDS was lower compared to those without reported mental disorders (BMI-SDS 1.91 (1.89;1.93) vs 2.008 (2.005;2.011); p < 0.001). Proportion of severe obesity was higher in individuals with depression (23.7%), anxiety disorders (17.8%), and eating disorders (33.3%), but lower in ADHD (10.3%), compared to those without reported mental disorders (13.5%, p < 0.002). Proportions of dyslipidaemia and abnormal carbohydrate metabolism were not different in youth with and without reported mental health comorbidity. BMI-SDS change after one year of lifestyle intervention program ranged between -0.22 and -0.16 and was similar in youth without and with different mental disorders., Conclusion: Health care professionals caring for youth with overweight or obesity should be aware of comorbid mental disorders and regular mental health screening should be considered., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: The use of digital media (e.g., smartphones, tablets, etc.) and the Internet have become omnipresent for every age group and are part of children's and parents' everyday life. Focusing on young children, the availability of media devices, their use as well as associated problems (e.g., in social, emotional and motor development) have increased in recent years. Of particular interest for prevention of these problems in early childhood is the relationship between the familial context (parental digital media use, Problematic Internet Use, school graduation, presence of siblings) and the digital media use of infants and toddlers. The present study's goal was to describe media usage in 0-4-year-old children and to identify the potential relationship between familial context factors and child media usage., Methods: The sample included N  = 3,035 children aged 0 to 3;11 years ( M = 17.37 months, SD  = 13.68; 49.13% female). Recruitment took place within the framework of a restandardization study for a German developmental test. The parents of the participants answered a questionnaire on socio-demographics, on child media use, and on parental media use. Questions on parental media use included the full version of the Short Compulsive Internet Use Scale (S-CIUS)., Results: Significant increases in media usage times with child age were identified, but no significant gender differences. A multiple regression analysis revealed that increasing maternal total media usage time, a higher parental S-CIUS score, lower school leaving certificate of both mother and father, and increasing child's age led to higher child media usage time. Having siblings diminished young children's media usage in this study. Having more than one child and having children aged over a year was associated with a higher parental S-CIUS score., Conclusion: Family factors such as maternal media use time, Problematic Internet Use and lower school graduation are significantly associated with young children's digital media use. Parents should be aware of their personal influence on their children's media use which might be due their role in terms of model learning., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Paulus, Joas, Friedmann, Fuschlberger, Möhler and Mall.)

The impacts of water supply reduction and cold storage were investigated on the peels and pulps of cv. Cogshall mangoes, regarding their phenolic compound contents. Phenolics identification was operated using HPLC-MSn for both compartments revealing an unbalanced repartition. Peels had a richer and more complex profile, counting xanthone glycoside (mangiferin), flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol) and majorly gallotannins. Pulps presented smaller amounts of phenolics and a simpler profile majorly represented by gallotannins and gallic acid derivatives. During fruit ripening, the phenolic contents decreased in both compartments, but faster in the pulp. This behavior can be attributed to the oxidative stress observed in mango pulp during ripening. Cutting down the water supply during the fruit growth triggered an increase in phenolic contents of both the peels and pulp of mango fruits. This increase affected all compounds. Cold storage at 12 or 7 °C led to an increase in mangiferin and flavonoids contents in the fruit peel, interpreted as a stress-response reaction.

Studies in recent years and especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown a significant increase in the problematic use of computer games and social media. Adolescents having difficulties in regulating their unpleasant emotions are especially prone to Problematic Internet Use (PIU), which is why emotion dysregulation has been considered a risk factor for PIU. The aim of the present study was to assess problematic internet use (PIU) in adolescents after the third wave (nearly 1.5 years after the onset in Europe) of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the German region of Siegen-Wittgenstein, all students 12 years and older from secondary-level schools, vocational schools and universities were offered a prioritized vaccination in August 2021 with an approved vaccine against COVID-19. In this context, the participants filled out the Short Compulsive Internet Use Scale (SCIUS) and two additional items to capture a possible change in digital media usage time and regulation of negative affect due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A multiple regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of PIU. The original sample consisted of 1477 participants, and after excluding invalid cases the final sample size amounted to 1268 adolescents aged 12-17 (x = 14.37 years, SD = 1.64). The average prevalence of PIU was 43.69%. Gender, age, digital media usage time and the intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were all found to be significant predictors of PIU: female gender, increasing age, longer digital media usage time and higher intensity of negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with higher SCIUS total scores. This study found a very high prevalence of PIU among 12- to 17-year-olds for the period after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has increased significantly compared to pre-pandemic prevalence rates. PIU is emerging as a serious problem among young people in the pandemic. Besides gender and age, pandemic-associated time of digital media use and emotion regulation have an impact on PIU, which provides starting points for preventive interventions.

Background: Temperament might be considered as a risk factor as well as a resilience factor for later externalizing and internalizing disorders. Therefore, this study examines different dimensions of temperament in preschool age with regard to their predictive value for psychopathology later in childhood., Methods: A total of 76 patients (63.2% male) were assessed in a special psychiatric consultation for preschool age at measuring point time t1 ( x = 4.2) and measuring point time t2 ( x = 9.2). At t1, the Integrative Child Temperament Inventory (ICTI) was used for assessment. At t2, parents completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire SDQ. Multiple regression analyses were used to test if the temperament factors of the ICTI predicted clinical abnormalities in the SDQ subscales or total difficulties score., Results: SDQ total difficulties score as an indicator of total psychiatric disturbance in childhood appears to be good predicted by the temperament factor frustration/anger. Sensory sensitivity in preschoolers serves as a risk factor for later emotional symptoms, whereas high activity levels appear to prevent later emotional symptoms. Behavioral inhibition appears to protect against hyperactivity/inattention., Conclusion: Our data suggests that preschool temperament contributes differently to the development of externalizing and internalizing problems in childhood. The temperament factor frustration/anger in preschool children might be a strong predictor of the general mental condition in childhood at nine years of age and can therefore be used as a target for prevention of psychopathology in children. On one hand, high sensory sensitivity can be a predictor to identify preschool children at risk for later emotional symptoms, on the other hand, activity level acts as a protective factor against later emotional symptoms. An increased level of behavioral inhibition might be protective against the development of hyperactivity/inattention symptoms. Overall, this study illustrates the complexity and ambiguity of temperament in child development., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Paulus, Möhler, Festag and Joas.)

Background: There are many studies on mother-child-bonding with little theoretical doubt that better bonding may have a positive effect on further social development. However, there is hardly any empirical evidence. In particular, there is a lack prospective longitudinal studies. Methods: As part of a longitudinal study, bonding was assessed in a community sample of 97 healthy mothers using the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ) 6 weeks after birth of their child. Social competencies in the offspring were assessed using the Self- and Other-oriented Social Competencies (SOCOMP) at 5.5 years of age. A potential correlation between bonding and social competencies was tested using Spearman Rank Correlation. Results: Retention rate over 5.5 years was 77.23%. Lower Maternal Bonding Impairment Scores 6 weeks postnatally were positively related to childrens' social competences at 5.5 years of age. Conclusion: The present data confirm a positive and long-term influence of bonding on social skills and provide further evidence of the importance of parent child bonding for child development in general. This result should give reason to further investigate this relationship in depth, causally and at later points in time., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Joas and Möhler.)

Introduction: Mycobacterium abscessus is an emerging pulmonary pathogen with limited treatment options. Nitric oxide (NO) demonstrates antibacterial activity against various bacterial species, including mycobacteria. In this study, we evaluated the effect of adjunctive inhaled NO therapy, using a novel NO generator, in a CF patient with pulmonary M. abscessus disease, and examined heterogeneity of response to NO in vitro ., Methods: In the compassionate-use treatment, a 24-year-old CF patient with pulmonary M. abscessus was treated with two courses of adjunctive intermittent NO, first at 160 p.p.m. for 21 days and subsequently by escalating the dose up to 240 p.p.m. for 8 days. Methemoglobin, pulmonary function, 6 min walk distance (6MWD), qualify of life and sputum microbiology were assessed. In vitro susceptibility tests were performed against patient's isolate and comparison clinical isolates and quantified by Hill's slopes calculated from time-kill curves., Results: M. abscessus lung infection eradication was not achieved, but improvements in selected qualify of life domains, lung function and 6MWD were observed during the study. Inhaled NO was well tolerated at 160 p.p.m. Dosing at 240 p.p.m. was stopped due to adverse symptoms, although methemoglobin levels remained within safety thresholds. In vitro susceptibility tests showed a dose-dependent NO effect on M. abscessus susceptibility and significant heterogeneity in response between M. abscessus clinical isolates. The patient's isolate was found to be the least susceptible strain in vitro ., Conclusion: These results demonstrate heterogeneity in M. abscessus susceptibility to NO and suggest that longer treatment regimens could be required to see the reduction or eradication of more resistant pulmonary strains., Competing Interests: K.B., T.C., C.R., S.M., A.P., C.M., W.W., J.L.d.S., S.G. and A.M.Z. declare that there are no competing interests. K.N.O. declares that he is a Principal Investigator (NHLBI) along with A.G. (Beyond Air) on a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between NHLBI and Beyond Air, Inc. (HL-CR-18–003). F.M. is an an employee of Beyond Air, Inc. M.R. and A.G. are consultants for Beyond Air, Inc., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Subcluster F1 bacteriophage KingMidas was isolated from soil collected in Providence, Rhode Island, using Mycobacterium smegmatis mc 2 155 as the host. The genome is 57,386 bp and contains 105 predicted protein-coding genes but no transfer-messenger RNAs or tRNAs. This siphovirus has an icosahedral head, with a genome 99.1% identical to that of F1 mycobacteriophage Scottish., (Copyright © 2020 Byrum et al.)

Background: Large improvements have been realized on the accuracy of the determination of fruit quality. The relevance of the relationship between commonly used quality descriptors and their related chemical contents was here questioned under the influence of water supply reduction and postharvest cold storage. The study relied on three analyses: (1) a correlation table between quality descriptors and compound contents, (2) principal component analysis using the selected variables to see the quality discrimination dictated by treatments; and (3) linear correlation between content and descriptors according to treatments., Results: The results indicate that abiotic parameters applied on mango fruits before or after harvest can affect the relationship between a quality descriptor and the content in compounds it is related to, here between titratable acidity and organic acid content and to a lesser extent between color, represented by hue angle values, and carotenoids, possibly creating bias in the final quality determination. A stronger relation between total soluble solids and total sugar content, were observed under mild abiotic stress., Conclusion: Fruit growth and postharvest storage conditions, such as irrigation and cold storage, can influence the actual correspondence between the compounds contents and the descriptors used to estimate fruit quality, particularly for pulp color, sugars and acids. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry., (© 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) is a non-climacteric tropical fruit whose ripening could be accompanied by oxidative processes and the concurrent activation of enzymatic and non-enzymatic reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging systems. To better understand the variability of these processes among climatic environments or genotypes in pineapple, the temporal expression dynamics for genes encoding oxidative and antioxidative stress enzymes were analyzed by real-time RT-PCR during fruit development and ripening, among three cultivars: Queen Victoria, Flhoran 41 and MD-2 hybrid, and in two climatic areas. Pineapple development and ripening involved changes in the levels of transcripts encoding for polyphenol oxidase and transcripts involved in the first steps of the phenylpropanoid pathway and in the balance of ROS, especially those encoding for ascorbate peroxydase and metallothioneins, regardless of the cultivar. Our results confirm the same dynamic in gene expression from the two environmental crop areas, however climatic conditions influenced the level of the expression of the major transcripts studied that were linked to these oxidative and antioxidant metabolisms. MT3a and MT3b transcripts were not influenced by genetic factor. The genetic effect was not significant on the various transcripts linked to the first steps of the phenylpropanoid pathway and to phenol oxidation, except 4CL ones. In ripe pineapple, highly significant relationships were found between the contents in antioxidant metabolites, i.e., ascorbic acid and total phenolic compounds, and the transcript levels of genes involved in the enzymatic ROS-scavenging system and in the biosynthesis or regeneration of ROS-scavenging compounds, like phenylpropanoids, ascorbic acid, metallothioneins., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

The effects of 15 days of storage at 12 °C and 7 °C followed by fruit ripening at 20 °C on oxidative status, antioxidant defense systems and carotenoid accumulation were studied for two successive years in mango fruits (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Cogshall. Changes in the non-enzymatic (ascorbate) and enzymatic (SOD, CAT, APX, MDHAR, DHAR and GR) antioxidant systems, as well as oxidative parameters (H 2 O 2 and MDA) and the contents of the major carotenoids were measured for three maturity stages, at harvest and after ripening following cold temperature storage. In control conditions (20 °C), ripening induced an increase in oxidation resulting in ROS production and a decrease in ascorbate content. Fruit tissue protection was activated by means of antioxidant and ascorbate regeneration enzyme systems. Carotenoid accumulated exponentially during ripening. Storage at low temperatures increased respiration crisis intensity and therefore increased oxidation in the fruit pulp. Fruit response to this increase varied according to the maturity stage, i.e., enzymatic responses in younger fruits were very low in comparison to the control, whereas second harvest fruits had a significantly higher degree of enzymatic activity to cope with the oxidative stress. Carotenoid contents decreased with low temperatures and first harvest fruits showed significantly lower values than the control, in opposition to second harvest fruits that appeared not to be affected. We also suggest that, based on a review of the literature, a link can be made between antioxidant system defense and carotenoid metabolism since ROS seems to play a central role as a stress signal in plants., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Ripening of climacteric fruits is associated with pronounced changes in fruit gas composition caused by a concomitant rise in respiration and ethylene production. There is a discrepancy in the literature since some authors reported that changes in fruit gas compositions differ in attached and detached fruits. This study presents for the first time an overview of pre- and post-harvest factors that lead to variations in the climacteric respiration and ethylene production, and attempts to determine their impacts on fruit composition, i.e., dry matter, total soluble solids content and acidity. The impact of growing conditions such as the fruit position in the canopy and the fruit carbon supply; fruit detachment from the tree, including the maturity stage at harvest; and storage conditions after harvest, i.e., relative humidity and temperature were considered as well as changes in fruit skin resistance to gas diffusion during fruit growth and storage. Results showed that fruit gas composition vary with all pre and post-harvest factors studied. Although all mangoes underwent a respiratory climacteric and an autocatalytic ethylene production, whatever pre and post-harvest factors studied, large differences in ethylene production, climacteric respiration and fruit quality were measured. Results suggested that the ripening capacity is not related to the fruit ability to produce great amount of ethylene. In agreement with precedent studies, this work provided several lines of evidence that gas composition of fruit is related to its water balance. Our measurements indicated that skin resistance to gas diffusion increased after the harvest and during storage. It was so suggested that the faster ripening of detached fruit may be explained in part by changes in fruit water balance and skin resistance to gas diffusion caused by fruit detachment., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

The effects of a reduction in water supply during fruit development and postharvest fruit ripening on the oxidative status and the antioxidant defense system were studied in the mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Cogshall. Changes in non-enzymatic (ascorbate) and enzymatic (SOD, CAT, APX, MDHAR, DHAR and GR) antioxidants, as well as oxidative parameters (H2O2 and MDA) and major carotenoids, were measured in unripe and ripe fruits from well-irrigated and non-irrigated trees. Under non-limiting water supply conditions, ripening induced oxidation as a result of the production of ROS and decreased ascorbate content. Antioxidant enzymatic systems were activated to protect fruit tissues and to regenerate the ascorbate pool. The carotenoid pool, mainly represented by β-carotene and esterified violaxanthine isomers, accumulated naturally during mango ripening. The suppression of irrigation decreased fruit size and induced accumulation of ABA and of its storage form, ABA-GE, in fruit pulp from the earliest harvest. It also increased oxidation, which was observable by the high levels of ascorbate measured at the early stages at harvest, and by the delay in the time it took to reach the pseudo constant carotene-to-xanthophyll ratio in ripe fruits. Nevertheless, differences between the irrigation treatments on the antioxidant system in ripe fruits were not significant, mainly because of the drastic changes in this system during ripening., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Managing fruit quality is complex because many different attributes have to be taken into account, which are themselves subjected to spatial and temporal variations. Heterogeneous fruit quality has been assumed to be partly related to temperature and maturity gradients within the fruit. To test this assumption, we measured the spatial variability of certain mango fruit quality traits: colour of the peel and of the flesh, and sourness and sweetness, at different stages of fruit maturity using destructive methods as well as vis-NIR reflectance. The spatial variability of mango quality traits was compared to internal variations in thermal time, simulated by a physical model, and to internal variations in maturity, using ethylene content as an indicator. All the fruit quality indicators analysed showed significant spatial and temporal variations, regardless of the measurement method used. The heterogeneity of internal fruit quality traits was not correlated with the marked internal temperature gradient we modelled. However, variations in ethylene content revealed a strong internal maturity gradient which was correlated with the spatial variations in measured mango quality traits. Nonetheless, alone, the internal maturity gradient did not explain the variability of fruit quality traits, suggesting that other factors, such as gas, abscisic acid and water gradients, are also involved., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Fruit physiology is strongly affected by both fruit temperature and water losses through transpiration. Fruit temperature and its transpiration vary with environmental factors and fruit characteristics. In line with previous studies, measurements of physical and thermal fruit properties were found to significantly vary between fruit tissues and maturity stages. To study the impact of these variations on fruit temperature and transpiration, a modelling approach was used. A physical model was developed to predict the spatial and temporal variations of fruit temperature and transpiration according to the spatial and temporal variations of environmental factors and thermal and physical fruit properties. Model predictions compared well to temperature measurements on mango fruits, making it possible to accurately simulate the daily temperature variations of the sunny and shaded sides of fruits. Model simulations indicated that fruit development induced an increase in both the temperature gradient within the fruit and fruit water losses, mainly due to fruit expansion. However, the evolution of fruit characteristics has only a very slight impact on the average temperature and the transpiration per surface unit. The importance of temperature and transpiration gradients highlighted in this study made it necessary to take spatial and temporal variations of environmental factors and fruit characteristics into account to model fruit physiology.

Depending on the position of the fruit in the tree, mango fruit may be exposed to high temperature and intense light conditions that may lead to metabolic and physiological disorders and affect yield and quality. The present study aimed to determine how mango fruit adapted its functioning in terms of fruit water relations, epicarp characteristics and the antioxidant defence system in peel, to environmental conditions. The effect of contrasted temperature and light conditions was evaluated under natural solar radiation and temperature by comparing well-exposed and shaded fruit at three stages of fruit development. The sun-exposed and shaded peels of the two sides of the well-exposed fruit were also compared. Depending on fruit position within the canopy and on the side of a well-exposed fruit, the temperature gradient over a day affected fruit characteristics such as transpiration, as revealed by the water potential gradient as a function of the treatments, and led to a significant decrease in water conductance for well-exposed fruits compared to fruits within the canopy. Changes in cuticle thickness according to fruit position were consistent with those of fruit water conductance. Osmotic potential was also affected by climatic environment and harvest stage. Environmental conditions that induced water stress and greater light exposure, like on the sunny side of well-exposed fruit, increased the hydrogen peroxide, malondialdehyde and total and reduced ascorbate contents, as well as SOD, APX and MDHAR activities, regardless of the maturity stage. The lowest values were measured in the peel of the shaded fruit, that of the shaded side of well-exposed fruit being intermediate. Mango fruits exposed to water-stress-induced conditions during growth adapt their functioning by reducing their transpiration. Moreover, oxidative stress was limited as a consequence of the increase in antioxidant content and enzyme activities. This adaptive response of mango fruit to its climatic environment during growth could affect postharvest behaviour and quality., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

Background: Climacteric fruits are harvested at the green-mature stage and ripen during their marketing cycle. However, growing conditions induce variability into the maturity stage of mangoes at harvest, with an impact on their final quality. Assuming that the physiological age can be correctly evaluated by a criterion based on the variable chlorophyll fluorescence of the skin (F(v)) and that differences in physiological age depend on growing conditions, controlled stress experiments were carried out on mango fruit by manipulating either the leaf/fruit ratio or the light environment., Results: Delays from 9 to 30 days were observed, depending on stress level and harvest stage, to obtain the same F(v) value. For moderate stress, fruit composition after ripening was partially compensated for, with little or no difference in sugar, dry matter, carotenoid and aroma contents. For more pronounced stress, the major metabolites were not particularly affected, but the synthesis capacity of carotenoids and aromas was lower after maturity., Conclusion: The ripening ability of a fruit is acquired on the tree and defines its postharvest changes. Control of the physiological age at harvest can minimise the variability observed under natural conditions and guarantee fruit batches whose postharvest changes will be relatively homogeneous., (Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.)

The quality of ripe mango fruits depends on maturity stage at harvest, which is usually assessed by visible criteria or from estimates of the age of fruit. The present study deals with the potential of chlorophyll fluorescence as a nondestructive method to assess the degree of fruit maturity regardless of fruit growing conditions. Chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were measured along with respiration rates of fruits still attached to the tree. At the same harvest stage, based on the fruit age or the thermal time sum (degree-days) method, physical and biochemical measurements related to fruit maturity and quality were made. Shaded fruits had a significantly greener flesh color, as well as a lower fruit density and flesh dry matter content, than well-exposed fruits, showing that fruits at the top of the canopy were more mature than fruits within the canopy, which were still in a growth phase. Additionally, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, F(o), F(m), and F(v), were significantly lower for fruits taken from the top of the canopy than for those from within the canopy. The unique relationship observed between chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and fruit maturity, estimated by internal carbon dioxide content, on fruit still attached to trees is independent of growing conditions, such as the position of the fruit in the canopy and carbohydrate supply. The chlorophyll fluorescence method evaluates maturity much more accurately than the degree-day method and, moreover, nondestructively provides values for individual fruits before harvest.

The human respiratory tract is constantly exposed to a wide variety of viruses, microbes and inorganic particulates from environmental air, water and food. Physical characteristics of inhaled particles and airway mucosal immunity determine which viruses and microbes will persist in the airways. Here we present the first metagenomic study of DNA viral communities in the airways of diseased and non-diseased individuals. We obtained sequences from sputum DNA viral communities in 5 individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) and 5 individuals without the disease. Overall, diversity of viruses in the airways was low, with an average richness of 175 distinct viral genotypes. The majority of viral diversity was uncharacterized. CF phage communities were highly similar to each other, whereas Non-CF individuals had more distinct phage communities, which may reflect organisms in inhaled air. CF eukaryotic viral communities were dominated by a few viruses, including human herpesviruses and retroviruses. Functional metagenomics showed that all Non-CF viromes were similar, and that CF viromes were enriched in aromatic amino acid metabolism. The CF metagenomes occupied two different metabolic states, probably reflecting different disease states. There was one outlying CF virome which was characterized by an over-representation of Guanosine-5'-triphosphate,3'-diphosphate pyrophosphatase, an enzyme involved in the bacterial stringent response. Unique environments like the CF airway can drive functional adaptations, leading to shifts in metabolic profiles. These results have important clinical implications for CF, indicating that therapeutic measures may be more effective if used to change the respiratory environment, as opposed to shifting the taxonomic composition of resident microbiota.