Changes in Botrytis cinerea Conidia Caused by Berberis vulgaris Extract

Testing plant extracts for controlling fungal diseases is a main biocontrol method. More interesting is to see what happens to the fungus treated with the plant extract. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate the antifungal activity of Berberis vulgaris extract on Botrytis cinerea and to examine the ultrastructural changes in B. cinerea conidia caused by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), using SEM and TEM. The antifungal activity of B. vulgaris bark extract was investigated using agar dilution method, and compared to that of berberine. Fluconazole was used as the positive antimycotic control. It was found that (1) B. vulgaris bark extract had significant antifungal activity against B. cinerea, and its effect was stronger than that of pure berberine. It was also noted that (2)B. vulgaris MIC caused severe structural changes of the conidia, comparable with berberine MIC effect; therefore (3) B. vulgaris bark extract might be recommended to be tested as a biocontrol agent against B. cinerea

SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections: Incidence and Risk Factors in a Large European Multicentric Cohort of Health Workers.

Background: The research aimed to investigate the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections and their determinants in a large European cohort of more than 60,000 health workers. Methods: A multicentric retrospective cohort study, involving 12 European centers, was carried out within the ORCHESTRA project, collecting data up to 18 November 2021 on fully vaccinated health workers. The cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections was investigated with its association with occupational and social-demographic characteristics (age, sex, job title, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, antibody titer levels, and time from the vaccination course completion). Results: Among 64,172 health workers from 12 European health centers, 797 breakthrough infections were observed (cumulative incidence of 1.2%). The primary analysis using individual data on 8 out of 12 centers showed that age and previous infection significantly modified breakthrough infection rates. In the meta-analysis of aggregated data from all centers, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the standardized antibody titer were inversely related to the risk of breakthrough infection (p = 0.008 and p = 0.007, respectively). Conclusion: The inverse correlation of antibody titer with the risk of breakthrough infection supports the evidence that vaccination plays a primary role in infection prevention, especially in health workers. Cellular immunity, previous clinical conditions, and vaccination timing should be further investigated

SARS-CoV-2 Breakthrough Infections: Incidence and Risk Factors in a Large European Multicentric Cohort of Health Workers

The research aimed to investigate the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections and their determinants in a large European cohort of more than 60,000 health workers

The comparative study of the content in the aminoacids of some smut species from genus Ustilago and Sorosporium

The chromatography analyses of the free amino acids from the spores of five species of smuts: Ustilago nuda (Jens) Rostup., Ustilago tritici (Pers.) Jens., Ustilago avenae (Pers.) Jens., Sorosporium holcisorghi (Rivolta) Moesz. and Sorosporium panici-milliacei (Pers.) Tak. proved the evidence of the great qualitative similarity of these compounds for the studied species and the existence of certain quantitative differences, that depend upon the species and genus. The differences are more obvious amoung the species belonging to different genera Ustilago and Sorosporium but they exist in all species of the same genus

Modification in the free amino acids content in the maize coleoptyles under the influence of herbicides

In this paper the authors shows that under the influence of the herbicides 2,4-D, and atrazine (used in great doses) the content of free amino acids in the maize coleophtyles increases

Amino acids of the fungus Helminthosporium gramineum Rabenh. and of the infested barley grain

The present study was carried out in order to determine by chromatographic analysis the amino acids contents of the fungus Helminthosporium gramineum Rabenh., which was found to be relatively high. Even the level of the free and proteic amino acids in the seeds infested by Helminthosporium was higher in comparison with the healthy seeds. In this case some qualitative changes was observed

The influence of Sorosporium holci-sorghi (Riv.) Moesz. f. zeae (Pass.) Savul. fungus attacks on the photosynthesis intensity and carbohydrates content on Zea mays

The carbohydrates content from Zea mays plants attacked by the Sorosporium holci-sorghi (Riv.) Moesz. f. zeae (Pass.) Savul. fungus is lower or equal, never above than the content found in the healthy control plants

Results regarding the study of an esparcet (Onobrychis) collection

The results of the studies done between the years 1974-1975 on a number of 101 samples of esparcet (Onobrychis spp.) under the conditions of Cluj-Napoca are being recorded. There have been remarked for higher DM production and very significant growth 5 samples, other 6 varieties achieved a significantly higher growth. The quality of fodder was appreciated according to protein and cellulose contents and leaf percentage. A number of 5 samples displayed significantly higher protein contents and that of cellulose lower than the control. All the 23 samples remarked for their precocity, resistance to diseases, production and quality, are worth being used as genitors in the breeding of cultivated varieties

Determinants of anti-S immune response at 6 months after COVID-19 vaccination in a multicentric European cohort of healthcare workers - ORCHESTRA project

BackgroundThe duration of immune response to COVID-19 vaccination is of major interest. Our aim was to analyze the determinants of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titer at 6 months after 2-dose vaccination in an international cohort of vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs). MethodsWe analyzed data on levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike antibodies and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 6,327 vaccinated HCWs from 8 centers from Germany, Italy, Romania and Slovakia. Time between 1(st) dose and serology ranged 150-210 days. Serological levels were log-transformed to account for the skewness of the distribution and normalized by dividing them by center-specific standard errors, obtaining standardized values. We fitted center-specific multivariate regression models to estimate the cohort-specific relative risks (RR) of an increase of 1 standard deviation of log antibody level and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI), and finally combined them in random-effects meta-analyses. ResultsA 6-month serological response was detected in 99.6% of HCWs. Female sex (RR 1.10, 95%CI 1.00-1.21), past infection (RR 2.26, 95%CI 1.73-2.95) and two vaccine doses (RR 1.50, 95%CI 1.22-1.84) predicted higher IgG titer, contrary to interval since last dose (RR for 10-day increase 0.94, 95%CI 0.91-0.97) and age (RR for 10-year increase 0.87, 95%CI 0.83-0.92). M-RNA-based vaccines (p<0.001) and heterologous vaccination (RR 2.46, 95%CI 1.87-3.24, one cohort) were associated with increased antibody levels. ConclusionsFemale gender, young age, past infection, two vaccine doses, and m-RNA and heterologous vaccination predicted higher antibody level at 6 months. These results corroborate previous findings and offer valuable data for comparison with trends observed with longer follow-ups