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Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) treats many blood conditions but remains underused due to complications such as graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). In GvHD, donor immune cells attack the patient, requiring powerful immunosuppressive drugs like glucocorticoids (GCs) to prevent death. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that donor cell conditioning with the glucocorticoid fluticasone propionate (FLU) prior to transplantation could increase hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) engraftment and reduce GvHD. Murine HSCs treated with FLU had increased HSC engraftment and reduced severity and incidence of GvHD after transplantation into allogeneic hosts. While most T cells died upon FLU treatment, donor T cells repopulated in the hosts and appeared less inflammatory and alloreactive. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are immunomodulatory and survived FLU treatment, resulting in an increased ratio of Tregs to conventional T cells. Our results implicate an important role for Tregs in maintaining allogeneic tolerance in FLU-treated grafts and suggest a therapeutic strategy of pre-treating donor cells (and not the patients directly) with GCs to simultaneously enhance engraftment and reduce GvHD upon allogeneic HCT.

As electromagnetic showers may alter the abundance of Helium, Lithium, and Deuterium, we can place severe constraints on the lifetime and amount of electromagnetic energy injected by long-lived particles. Considering up-to-date measurements of the light element abundances that point to Yp=0.245±0.003, (D/H)=(2.527±0.03)×10−5, and the baryon-to-photon ratio obtained from the Cosmic Microwave Background data, η=6.104×10−10, we derive upper limits on the fraction of electromagnetic energy produced by long-lived particles. Our findings apply to decaying dark matter models, long-lived gravitinos, and other non-thermal processes that occurred in the early universe between 102−1010 seconds.

Abstract Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) treats many blood conditions but remains underused due to complications such as graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD). In GvHD, donor immune cells attack the patient, requiring powerful immunosuppressive drugs like glucocorticoids (GCs) to prevent death. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that donor cell conditioning with the glucocorticoid fluticasone propionate (FLU) prior to transplantation could increase hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) engraftment and reduce GvHD. Murine HSCs treated with FLU had increased HSC engraftment and reduced severity and incidence of GvHD after transplantation into allogeneic hosts. While most T cells died upon FLU treatment, donor T cells repopulated in the hosts and appeared less inflammatory and alloreactive. Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are immunomodulatory and survived FLU treatment, resulting in an increased ratio of Tregs to conventional T cells. Our results implicate an important role for Tregs in maintaining allogeneic tolerance in FLU‐treated grafts and suggest a therapeutic strategy of pre‐treating donor cells (and not the patients directly) with GCs to simultaneously enhance engraftment and reduce GvHD upon allogeneic HCT.

The discovery and implementation of antibiotics led to a better prognosis for infectious diseases. Fluoroquinolones are a family of antibiotics with a broad spectrum of action and antibacterial effectiveness. Because bacterial strains have increased their resistance to antibiotics, the World Health Organization has reported an urgent need to develop new active molecules. Our research group has therefore focused on deriving different compounds from fluoroquinolones. A fluoroquinolone derivatized in complex with boron, labeled 7a, was found to have good antibacterial potential. The objective of this research was to evaluate the in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial effect of the derivatized 7a on K. pneumoniae (clinical isolates) strains. The Kirby-Bauer inhibition technique generated average inhibition areas of 8.24 ± 1.239 cm2. For the minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration, macrodilutions of 7a compound were performed, obtaining 1 μg/mL in both determinations. For the in vivo model, Balb/c mice were infected intratracheally with K. pneumoniae; the animals were treated daily with ciprofloxacin (80 mg/kg/day) or 7a (80 mg/kg/day). The animals were sacrificed on the seventh day post-infection and hematoxylin and eosin staining was done on the lungs to evaluate the percentage of pneumonia. It was found that 7a significantly reduced the generation of pneumonia (5.96% of pneumonic tissue was found) while the untreated infected group generated 71.70% of pneumonic lung tissue. Compound 7a is an antimicrobial agent capable of inhibiting in vitro development of a Gram-negative (K. pneumoniae) bacterial strain. In addition, 7a is effective in treating acute pneumonia induced by K. pneumoniae in a murine model.

Marine sediments are ecologically-important environments that act as a long-term depository for different contaminants from natural and anthropogenic sources. We investigated the response of crude-oil and gas-condensate spills on benthic microbial populations in the oligotrophic southeastern Mediterranean Sea using costume-design benthocosms. Additions of crude oil and gas condensate significantly changed the sediment’s chemical properties, with 2-fold elevated levels of total organic carbon (TOC) and up to ∼ 6-fold higher concentration of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (∑PAHs) relative to unamended sediments. Naphthalene and benzo(a)pyrene were the dominant species comprising the PAHs in both the crude-oil and gas-condensate treatments (29–43% and 26–35%, respectively). Porewater PO43+ drastically declined throughout the experiment, whereas NO2− + NO3− decreased ∼100 days post hydrocarbons addition and then increased in the remaining ∼100 days till the conclusion of the experiment. This temporal variability in NO2− + NO3− hints that hydrocarbon pollution may affect the interplay between benthic denitrification and N2 fixation, thus affecting nutrient limitation for benthic heterotrophic bacteria and phytoplankton. Moreover, our results show that crude oil and gas-condensate usually lead to a decline in benthic autotrophic microbial biomass (50–80%), while heterotrophic bacterial abundances remained unchanged, and bacterial production rapidly increased (maximal 1,600%, crude-oil > gas-cindensate). These effects were prolonged and lasted several months post hydrocarbons addition, highlighting the sediments as a repository for oil contaminants. Amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene revealed hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria including Methylophaga, Ponticaulis and Alcanivorax genera post crude-oil addition and Actinobacterota 67–14 lineage following gas-condensate amendments. Our results may enable applying a better science-based environmental policy for the benthic marine environment.

ObjectiveTo compare total out-of-pocket expenses for physician visits and medications among older adults living with diabetes in Mexico from urban, semi-urban, and rural areas.MethodsThe sample included 2,398 Mexicans aged 65 years and older with self-reported diabetes from the 2018 Mexican Health and Aging Study. Out-of-pocket expenses for physician visits and medications were regressed on locality, controlling for several factors.ResultsThe profile of those with higher out-of-pocket medication expenditures included rural localities, higher education, unmarried, depressive symptoms, participation in Seguro Popular, and lacking insurance. In the multivariate analysis, rural older adults with diabetes paid a higher amount in medication expenditures compared with other localities.ConclusionDifferences in locality are closely tied to the effective implementation of Seguro Popular. Although this program has improved access to care, participants have higher out-of-pocket expenditures for medications than those on employer-based plans across all localities. Among all groups, the uninsured bare the highest burden of expenditures, highlighting a continued need to address health inequities for the most underserved populations.

Biological invasions of jellyfish may critically affect ecosystems and ecosystem services, yet their complex life cycle makes tracking their origins and dispersal vectors a challenging task. Here we combine citizen science observations, oceanographic modeling, and population genetics to track swarms of the invasive nomad jellyfish, Rhopilema nomadica, across the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Jellyfish observations were recorded by citizens from two Israeli beaches in two consecutive years. A Lagrangian model coupled with a high-resolution 3D hydrodynamic model (SINMOD) was then used to simulate drift of ephyrae from probable polyp bed locations. Finally, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence was constructed to examine swarm connectivity. Temporal (both seasonal and interannual) variation in observed swarms generally exceeded spatial differences between the two surveyed beaches. Early detection of swarms by citizens in offshore waters and the higher offshore particle distribution shown by the drift model, point to considerable offshore transport of the swarms. However, a higher probability was found for a nearshore location of the polyp beds, as nearshore origins were more closely correlated to hits on target beaches. R. nomadica released as ephyrae in early spring were likely to reach target beaches 200-300 km down current within two to three months as swarms of young adults in the early summer bathing season. R. nomadica populations exhibited little temporal or spatial genetic differentiation, a typical feature of a species that has recently undergone rapid population expansion. The offshore transport, the lack of genetic structure, and the interannual differences in both hydrodynamics and citizen scientist observations, all indicate decentralized swarm origins. This type of interdisciplinary approach can thus provide viable tools to track bloom formations. Understanding the complexity of jellyfish swarm dynamics supports future management strategies such as forecasting, preparedness and public education.

Edible jellyfish are a traditional Southeast Asian food, usually prepared as a rehydrated product using a salt and alum mixture, whereas they are uncommon in Western Countries and considered as a novel food in Europe. Here, a recently developed, new approach for jellyfish processing and stabilization with calcium salt brining was upgraded by modifying the pre-treatment step of freshly caught jellyfish and successfully applied to several edible species. Treated jellyfish obtained by the application of the optimized version of this method respected both quality and safety parameters set by EU law, including no pathogenic microorganisms, absence or negligible levels of histamine and of total volatile basic nitrogen, no heavy metals; and the total bacterial, yeast, and mold counts were either negligible or undetectable. Jellyfish treated by the presented method exhibited unique protein content, amino acid and fatty acid profiles, antioxidant activity, and texture. The optimized method, initially set up on Rhiszostoma pulmo, was also successfully applied to other edible jellyfish species (such as Cotylorhiza tuberculata, Phyllorhiza punctata, and Rhopilema nomadica) present in the Mediterranean Sea. This study discloses an innovative process for the preparation of jellyfish-based food products for potential future distribution in Europe.

This study examined the ability of a Mediterranean demosponge Chondrosia reniformis to oxidize exogenous ammonium, simulating N-rich conditions that occur near finfish farms. We hypothesized that as the concentration of ammonium increases in the surrounding seawater, nitrification mediated by microbes associated with C. reniformis will lead to enhancement of ammonium uptake, nitrate excretion and oxygen consumption by the sponge holobiont. To test this hypothesis, we conducted laboratory experiments with C. reniformis explants exposed to ammonium enrichments (300–6667 nM) and to ambient seawater (45–1511 nM ammonium). We analyzed inhaled (IN) and exhaled (EX) water samples for dissolved oxygen, ammonium, nitrates and retention of picoplankton cells. We observed ammonium uptake in nearly half the cases and excretion of nitrate in most experimental outcomes. Yet, the consumption of ammonium and oxygen, as well as the excretion of nitrate by C. reniformis were not related to the concentration of inhaled ammonium, which suggests that the nitrification activity of sponge-associated microbes is not necessarily related to the concentration of ammonium in the surrounding seawater. Further research is required to reveal the sources of nitrate released from sponges and the fate of this nitrate in natural and manipulated ecosystems.

Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been shown to be an important source of nutrients in coastal environments, especially nitrogen and silica, and thereby relive nutrient limitation to phytoplankton. Here, we followed autotrophic microbial biomass, activity, and community composition at a site strongly influenced by SGD and a nearby nutrients-poor reference site at the oligotrophic Israeli shallow rocky coast [southeastern Mediterranean Sea (SEMS)] between 2011 and 2019. The surface water at the SGD-affected area had significantly higher NO3 + NO2 (∼10-fold) and Si(OH)4 (∼2-fold) levels compared to the reference site, while no significant differences were observed for PO4 or NH4. This resulted in a significant increase in algae biomass (∼3.5-fold), which was attributed to elevated Synechococcus (∼3.5-fold) and picoeukaryotes (∼2-fold) at the SGD-affected site, and in elevated primary production rates (∼2.5-fold). Contrary to most SGD-affected coastal areas, diatoms biomass remained unchanged between sites, despite the elevated N and Si, suggesting the dominance of picophytoplankton over microphytoplankton at the SEMS. DNA sequencing of the 16S and 18S rDNA supported these findings. These results highlight the influence of SGD on shallow-water microbial populations. Our observations are consistent with recent studies showing that phytoplankton along the Israeli coast are likely nitrogen + silica limited, and may have important ecological and regulatory implications for environmental policy and management of coastal aquifers.

Abstract Introduction Substantial gaps in research remain across oldest‐old ethnic populations while the burden of dementia increases exponentially with age among Mexican and Mexican American older adults. Methods Prevalence and correlates of dementia among individuals ≥82 years of age were examined using two population‐based cohort studies: The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS, n = 1078, 2012) and the Hispanic Established Populations for the Epidemiologic Study of the Elderly (HEPESE, n = 735, 2012–2013). The analytic MHAS and HEPESE samples had an average age of 86.4 and 88.0 years, 1.2 and 1.8 women to men, and 2.7 and 5.1 average years of education, respectively. Results We identified 316 (29.2%) and 267 (36.3%) cases of likely dementia in the MHAS and HEPESE cohorts, respectively. For Mexicans but not Mexican Americans, age‐adjusted prevalence rates of likely dementia were higher in women than men. For both populations prevalence rates increased with age and decreased with education for Mexican Americans but not for Mexicans. In both populations, odds of likely dementia increased with age. Health insurance for the low‐income was significantly associated with higher odds of likely dementia for Mexican American men and women and Mexican women but not men. Living in extended households increased the odds of likely dementia in women, but not in men for both studies. Multiple cardiovascular conditions increased the odds of likely dementia for Mexicans but not for Mexican Americans. Discussion Our study provides evidence of the high burden of dementia among oldest‐old Mexicans and Mexican Americans and its association with health and social vulnerabilities.

The Grenfell disaster of June 14, 2017 brought into sharp focus the dangers posed by combustible façade materials. Polyethylene core panelling has been implicated in numerous fires such as The Address Downtown, the Saif Belhasa in Dubai and the Lacrosse building in Melbourne. Due to the large number of buildings with potentially combustible cladding, there is significant pressure to find an accurate and fast method to identify such cladding and any associated insulation as part of the overall assessment process. Over the past year, several different approaches to identification have been proposed and in this paper, we recount our expe-riences in developing a methodology to achieve this and discuss the limitations of this method and of competing methods.

Jellyfish (cnidarians and ctenophores) affect the marine food web through high feeding rates and feeding efficiency, but in contrast to their great importance in the ecosystem, our knowledge of their dietary requirements is limited. Here we present the results of respiratory and feeding trials of the rhizostome Rhopilema nomadica, the dominant scyphozoan in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, which often establishes massive swarms, mainly in the summer months. Through multiple measurements of oxygen demand in R. nomadica at bell diameters of 3–49 mm, we were able to assess its minimum energetic requirements. These, and the results of the feeding trials on individuals of the same bell diameter range, show that R. nomadica is a very efficient predator. When presented with prey concentrations of 100 prey items per liter, a single hourly feeding session provided between 1.15 and 3 times the estimated daily basal carbon requirement. Our findings suggest that R. nomadica is well adapted to its environment, the hyperoligotrophic waters of the eastern Mediterranean, able to efficiently exploit patches of plankton, possibly at rates even higher than what we observed under laboratory conditions.

By moving away from coastal waters and hence reducing pressure on nearshore ecosystems, offshore aquaculture can be seen as a possible step towards the large-scale expansion of marine food production. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) in nearshore water bodies has received increasing attention and could therefore play a role in the transfer of aquaculture operations to offshore areas. IMTA holds scope for multi-use of offshore areas and can bring environmental benefits from making use of waste products and transforming these into valuable co-products. Furthermore, they may act as alternative marine production systems and provide scope for alternative income options for coastal communities, e.g., by acting as nodes for farm operation and maintenance requirements. This paper summarizes the current state of knowledge on the implications of the exposed nature of offshore and open ocean sites on the biological, technological and socio-economic performance of IMTA. Of particular interest is improving knowledge about resource flows between integrated species in hydrodynamic challenging conditions that characterize offshore waters.

Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, etnik ve ırksal çeşitliliğiyle bilinen ülkelerin başında yer almaktadır. Yaşlı nüfus ve göçlerin artmasıyla beraber bu çeşitliliğin günümüzde daha renkli bir hale geldiği görülmektedir. Dominant kültür yerini farklılıklardan gelen bireylerin hâkim olduğu bir ortama bırakmıştır. Özellikle yaşlı kesimin toplumda ve işgücünde hem oranının hem de öneminin artacağına inanılmaktadır. Farklılıkların takdir edilmesinin gerekli bir durum olduğunun altı çizilmektedir. Belirtilen gerçekliğin diğer ülkelerce de dikkate alındığı bilinmektedir. Ülkemiz gibi toplumlarda da benzer bir tablo söz konusu olduğundan makalenin ilgili çevrelere yol gösterici olabileceği düşünülmüştür. Çevirisi yapılan makale, Robert H. Binstock ve Linda K. George adlı yazarların 2006 yılında editörlüğünü yaptıkları “Yaşlılık ve Sosyal Bilimler El Kitabı” (Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences) adlı kitapta yer almaktadır.

Areas that once were deemed unsuitable for construction due to a high water table are now being developed to meet the needs of an increasing population. With the decline in land availability to build or expand highway networks above ground, underground facilities, such as mass-transit lines, may represent the future of transportation. Underground structures naturally require the control of groundwater to complete construction. A review of common dewatering systems and methods used in the construction of transportation facilities found that similar techniques are used in other industries. Also, scant few case studies document dewatering problems although they represent a key component of common construction claims in the civil engineering industry. A common thread among all construction initiatives is the need for thorough subsurface site investigation. The uncertainty of subsurface conditions related to groundwater issues has resulted in insurance claims and litigation reaching disproportionately high numbers in civil engineering construction. Better assessments of hydrogeological formations may help to mitigate potential groundwater control problems.

A triangulação, há muito, vem sendo empregada para validar estudos cujos resultados são alvo de críticas por basearem-se em amostras muito pequenas ou por não permitirem generalização. Com um foco especial no uso de múltiplas fontes de dados quantitativos, expandimos o uso da triangulação em um contexto sociológico, argumentando que não só a sociologia é um campo apto ao uso da combinação de diferentes bases de dados, mas que esta é uma ferramenta útil ao se analisarem populações de difícil acesso e menos favorecidas. Destacando exemplos de múltiplas bases de dados empregadas usualmente para explorar questões sobre o envelhecimento de pessoas de origem latino-americana nos Estados Unidos, discutimos como estas distintas fontes podem ser aplicadas para fortalecer os resultados. Concluímos, discutindo a aplicação da triangulação como um meio de tornar as análises sociológicas acessíveis e relevantes para o campo das políticas, o que acreditamos ser um esforço necessário para assegurar uma perspectiva sociológica no âmbito mais amplo da discussão de políticas.Triangulation has long been employed to provide validation for study findings that are easily critiqued because of small sample sizes or lack of generalizability. With a particular focus on using multiple quantitative data sources, we expand the use of triangulation within a sociological context, arguing that not only is sociology a field ripe for the use of combining different datasets, but that it is a useful tool when examining hard-to-reach and disadvantaged populations. Highlighting examples from multiple datasets that are typically employed to explore issues of Hispanic aging in the United States, we discuss how these different sources can be deployed to leverage findings. We conclude by discussing the application of triangulation to make sociological analyses policy accessible and relevant, a necessary pursuit, we argue, to ensure a sociological voice is part of the broader policy discussion.