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At present, there is a huge interest in finding new prebiotics from agrofood industrial waste, such as the soyabean by-product Okara, rich in insoluble dietary fibre. A previous treatment of Okara with high hydrostatic pressure assisted by the food-grade enzyme Ultraflo® L achieved a 58·2 % increment in its soluble dietary fibre (SDF) contents. Therefore, potential prebiotic effect of both treated and native Okara was assayed using 48 h, pH-controlled, anaerobic batch cultures inoculated with human faecal slurries, which simulate the human gut. Changes in faecal microbiota were evaluated using 16S rRNA-based fluorescence in situ hybridisation, whereas release of SCFA and lactic acid was assessed by HPLC. Both Okara samples exhibited potential prebiotic effects but Okara treated to maximise its SDF content showed higher SCFA plus lactic acid, better growth promotion of beneficial bacteria, including bifidobacteria after 4 and 48 h and lactobacilli after 4 h of fermentation, and a greater inhibition of potentially harmful bacterial groups such as clostridia and Bacteroides. Differences found between fructo-oligosaccharides and Okara substrates could be attributed to the great complexity of Okara’s cell wall, which would need longer times to be fermented than other easily digested molecules, thus allowing an extended potential prebiotic effect. These results support an in vitro potential prebiotic effect of Okara. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Okara is an abundant and inexpensive by-product from soybean, rich in total dietary fibre (> 55% dry weight), but poor in soluble dietary fibre (SDF, < 5% dw). A combined method of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) aided by the food grade enzyme Ultraflo ® L was used for SDF maximization. At atmospheric pressure, incubation time was not a key factor, and a ratio of 1:40 (enzyme:Okara, v/w ) was able to saturate the enzyme within 120–150 min. When HHP plus Ultraflo ® L were applied, a synergy between both treatments was observed. Thus, at 600 MPa, 0.025% Ultraflo ® L and 30 min treatment, soluble carbohydrate added up to 15.64 ± 0.32%, consisting of two peaks (9.14 ± 0.18 and 0.57 ± 0.01 kDa), determined by HPLC-ELSD. The combination of HHP plus Ultraflo ® L on Okara improved the solubility of the dietary fibre, making it more suitable to be used in functional foods. Industrial relevance There is an increasing interest in finding new prebiotics from food industrial waste. Okara has been simultaneously treated with Ultraflo ® L and HHP, taking into account the industrial costs of the procedure, and adjusting the quantity of enzyme and time of treatment to the minimum, by a Response Surface Methodology and an enzymatic activity assay. Besides, an HPLC-ELSD direct analysis (High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Evaporative Light Scattering Detector) was employed to monitor soluble fibre, as an easy and fast analytical method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy is a successful treatment for B-cell malignancies associated with cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS). Cardiovascular toxicities have also been reported in this setting. However, there is scarce data regarding development of autonomic disorders after CAR-T cell therapy., Patient Concerns: We report a case with a patient with non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphoma, refractory to 2 prior lines of immunochemotherapy, treated with CAR-T therapy., Diagnoses: Orthostatic hypotension secondary to autonomic dysfunction was diagnosed as manifestation of ICANS., Interventions: The patient received metilprednisolone 1000 mg IV daily for 3 days and anakinra 100 mg IV every 6h., Outcomes: The vast majority of autonomic symptoms ceased and 4 months after CAR-T therapy, autonomic dysfunction was resolved., Lessons: New-onset autonomic dysfunction can occur as manifestation of ICANS in patients who experience persistent neurologic and cardiovascular symptoms after resolution of acute neurotoxicity and should be early recognized. Differences in differential diagnosis, mechanisms and treatment approaches are discussed., Competing Interests: The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

This multicenter study sponsored by GETH-TC aimed to investigate the incidence and predictors of early (within the first 100 days) and late cardiac events (CE) (ECE and LCE) following allo-HCT in AML patients treated with anthracyclines, focusing on exploring the impact of PTCY on cardiac complications and the impact of CE on overall survival (OS) and non-relapse mortality (NRM). 1020 AML patients were included. PTCY was given to 450 (44.1%) adults. Overall, 94 (9.2) patients experienced CE and being arrythmias, pericardial complications, and heart failure the most prevalent ones. ECE occurred in 49 (4.8%) patients in a median of 13 days after allo-HCT, while LCE were diagnosed in 45 (4.4%) patients in a median of 3.6 years after transplant. Using PTCY increased the risk for ECE in multivariate analysis (HR 2.86, P=0.007), but did not not significantly affect the risk for LCE (HR 1.06, P=0.892). The impact of variables on outcomes revealed was investigated using multivariate regression analyses and revealed that the diagnosis of CE significantly decreased the likelihood of OS (HR 1.66, P=0.005) and increased the likelihood of NRM (HR 2.88, P<0.001). Furthermore, despite using PTCY increased the risk for ECE, its administration was found to be beneficial for OS (HR 0.71, P=0.026). The study suggests that while the incidence of CE was relatively low, it significantly impacted mortality. Standard doses of PTCY increased ECE risk but were associated with improved OS. Therefore, implementing protocols to prevent cardiac complications is recommended, considering the widespread adoption of PTCY in allo-HCT., (Copyright © 2024 American Society of Hematology.)

Bacterial canker of tomato caused by Clavibacter michiganensis ( Cm ) is one of the most devastating bacterial diseases affecting the tomato industry worldwide. As the result of Cm colonization of the xylem, the susceptible host shows typical symptoms of wilt, marginal leaf necrosis, stem cankers, and ultimately plant death. However, what makes Cm an even more dangerous pathogen is its ability to infect seeds and plants without causing symptoms. Unfortunately, there are no resistant cultivars or effective chemical or biological control methods available to growers against Cm . Its control relies heavily on prevention. The implementation of a rapid and accurate detection tool is imperative to monitor the presence of Cm and prevent its spread. In this study, we developed a specific and sensitive multiplex TaqMan qPCR assay to detect Cm and distinguish it from related bacterial species that affect tomato plants. Two Cm chromosomal virulence-related genes, rhu M and tom A, were used as specific targets. The plant internal control tubulin alpha-3 was included in each of the multiplexes to improve the reliability of the assay. Specificity was evaluated with 37 bacterial strains including other Clavibacter spp. and related and unrelated bacterial pathogens from different geographic locations affecting a wide variety of hosts. Results showed that the assay is able to discriminate Cm strains from other related bacteria. The assay was validated on tissue and seed samples following artificial infection, and all tested samples accurately detected the presence of Cm . The tool described here is highly specific, sensitive, and reliable for the detection of Cm and allows the quantification of Cm in seeds, roots, stems, and leaves. The diagnostic assay can also be adapted for multiple purposes such as seed certification programs, surveillance, biosafety, the effectiveness of control methods, border protection, and epidemiological studies.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license., Competing Interests: The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.