Showing papers by "University of Montpellier published in 2020"
••
Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust1, University College London2, Royal Melbourne Hospital3, University of Exeter4, University of Plymouth5, University of Cambridge6, University of Manchester7, Tel Aviv University8, Goa Medical College9, Johns Hopkins University10, University of California, Davis11, Kaiser Permanente12, University College Hospital, Ibadan13, University of Montpellier14, Dalhousie University15, University of Southern California16, Oslo University Hospital17, University of Washington18
TL;DR: Author(s): Livingston, Gill; Huntley, Jonathan; Sommerlad, Andrew ; Sommer Glad, Andrew; Ames, David; Ballard, Clive; Banerjee, Sube; Brayne, Carol; Burns, Alistair; Cohen-Mansfield, Jiska; Cooper, Claudia; Costafreda, Sergi G; Dias, Amit; Fox, Nick; Gitlin, Laura N; Howard, Robert; Kales, Helen C;
3,559 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, a power-law fit to the angular power spectra of dust polarization at 353 GHz for six nested sky regions covering from 24 to 71 % of the sky is presented.
Abstract: The study of polarized dust emission has become entwined with the analysis of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization. We use new Planck maps to characterize Galactic dust emission as a foreground to the CMB polarization. We present Planck EE, BB, and TE power spectra of dust polarization at 353 GHz for six nested sky regions covering from 24 to 71 % of the sky. We present power-law fits to the angular power spectra, yielding evidence for statistically significant variations of the exponents over sky regions and a difference between the values for the EE and BB spectra. The TE correlation and E/B power asymmetry extend to low multipoles that were not included in earlier Planck polarization papers. We also report evidence for a positive TB dust signal. Combining data from Planck and WMAP, we determine the amplitudes and spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of polarized foregrounds, including the correlation between dust and synchrotron polarized emission, for the six sky regions as a function of multipole. This quantifies the challenge of the component separation procedure required for detecting the reionization and recombination peaks of primordial CMB B modes. The SED of polarized dust emission is fit well by a single-temperature modified blackbody emission law from 353 GHz to below 70 GHz. For a dust temperature of 19.6 K, the mean spectral index for dust polarization is $\beta_{\rm d}^{P} = 1.53\pm0.02 $. By fitting multi-frequency cross-spectra, we examine the correlation of the dust polarization maps across frequency. We find no evidence for decorrelation. If the Planck limit for the largest sky region applies to the smaller sky regions observed by sub-orbital experiments, then decorrelation might not be a problem for CMB experiments aiming at a primordial B-mode detection limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio $r\simeq0.01$ at the recombination peak.
1,749 citations
••
TL;DR: The flagship paper of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium describes the generation of the integrative analyses of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types, the structures for international data sharing and standardized analyses, and the main scientific findings from across the consortium studies.
Abstract: Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale1,2,3. Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4–5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter4; identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation5,6; analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution7; describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity8,9; and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes8,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18.
1,600 citations
••
TL;DR: The extent of the trait data compiled in TRY is evaluated and emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness are analyzed to conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements.
Abstract: Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
882 citations
••
TL;DR: The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO 2 , water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe, and is detailed in this paper.
Abstract: The FLUXNET2015 dataset provides ecosystem-scale data on CO2, water, and energy exchange between the biosphere and the atmosphere, and other meteorological and biological measurements, from 212 sites around the globe (over 1500 site-years, up to and including year 2014). These sites, independently managed and operated, voluntarily contributed their data to create global datasets. Data were quality controlled and processed using uniform methods, to improve consistency and intercomparability across sites. The dataset is already being used in a number of applications, including ecophysiology studies, remote sensing studies, and development of ecosystem and Earth system models. FLUXNET2015 includes derived-data products, such as gap-filled time series, ecosystem respiration and photosynthetic uptake estimates, estimation of uncertainties, and metadata about the measurements, presented for the first time in this paper. In addition, 206 of these sites are for the first time distributed under a Creative Commons (CC-BY 4.0) license. This paper details this enhanced dataset and the processing methods, now made available as open-source codes, making the dataset more accessible, transparent, and reproducible.
681 citations
••
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the agronomical variables and plant traits that can be estimated by remote sensing, and describe the empirical and deterministic approaches to retrieve them, and provide a synthesis of the emerging opportunities that should strengthen the role of remote sensing in providing operational, efficient and long-term services for agricultural applications.
631 citations
••
King's College London1, Monash University2, Imperial College London3, Dresden University of Technology4, Anschutz Medical Campus5, Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic6, Nanyang Technological University7, University of Pisa8, Peking University9, HealthPartners10, University of Michigan11, University of Leicester12, University of Yaoundé13, University of Montpellier14
TL;DR: A large number of patients with or at risk of diabetes and metabolic complications of preexisting diabetes, including diabetic ketoacidosis and h...
Abstract: Diabetes and Covid-19 Diabetes is associated with an increased risk of severe Covid-19. New-onset diabetes and metabolic complications of preexisting diabetes, including diabetic ketoacidosis and h...
578 citations
••
TL;DR: Pembrolizumab prolonged OS versus chemotherapy as second-line therapy for advanced esophageal cancer in patients with programmed death ligand-1 combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 10, with fewer treatment-related adverse events.
Abstract: PURPOSEPatients with advanced esophageal cancer have a poor prognosis and limited treatment options after first-line chemotherapy.PATIENTS AND METHODSIn this open-label, phase III study, we randoml...
511 citations
••
TL;DR: MitoFinder, a user‐friendly bioinformatic pipeline, to efficiently assemble and annotate mitogenomic data from hundreds of UCE libraries, and shows that metagenomic assemblers, in particular MetaSPAdes, are well suited to assemble both UCEs and mtDNA.
Abstract: Thanks to the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, target enrichment sequencing of nuclear ultraconserved DNA elements (UCEs) now allows routine inference of phylogenetic relationships from thousands of genomic markers. Recently, it has been shown that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is frequently sequenced alongside the targeted loci in such capture experiments. Despite its broad evolutionary interest, mtDNA is rarely assembled and used in conjunction with nuclear markers in capture-based studies. Here, we developed MitoFinder, a user-friendly bioinformatic pipeline, to efficiently assemble and annotate mitogenomic data from hundreds of UCE libraries. As a case study, we used ants (Formicidae) for which 501 UCE libraries have been sequenced whereas only 29 mitogenomes are available. We compared the efficiency of four different assemblers (IDBA-UD, MEGAHIT, MetaSPAdes, and Trinity) for assembling both UCE and mtDNA loci. Using MitoFinder, we show that metagenomic assemblers, in particular MetaSPAdes, are well suited to assemble both UCEs and mtDNA. Mitogenomic signal was successfully extracted from all 501 UCE libraries, allowing us to confirm species identification using CO1 barcoding. Moreover, our automated procedure retrieved 296 cases in which the mitochondrial genome was assembled in a single contig, thus increasing the number of available ant mitogenomes by an order of magnitude. By utilizing the power of metagenomic assemblers, MitoFinder provides an efficient tool to extract complementary mitogenomic data from UCE libraries, allowing testing for potential mitonuclear discordance. Our approach is potentially applicable to other sequence capture methods, transcriptomic data and whole genome shotgun sequencing in diverse taxa. The MitoFinder software is available from GitHub (https://github.com/RemiAllio/MitoFinder).
427 citations
••
Royal Museum for Central Africa1, Ghent University2, University of Leeds3, University College London4, Forestry Commission5, University of York6, Wildlife Conservation Society7, University of Kisangani8, University of Plymouth9, World Wide Fund for Nature10, Norwegian University of Life Sciences11, University of Yaoundé I12, Manchester Metropolitan University13, Center for International Forestry Research14, University of British Columbia15, Bioversity International16, University of Toronto17, University of Stirling18, Forestry Research Institute of Ghana19, Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement20, University of Montpellier21, Mbarara University of Science and Technology22, Marien Ngouabi University23, University of Buea24, Duke University25, University of Edinburgh26, National Park Service27, Smithsonian Institution28, University of Cambridge29, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech30, University of Birmingham31, University of Exeter32, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute33, Chinese Academy of Sciences34, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh35, African Wildlife Foundation36, American Museum of Natural History37, University of Bristol38, University of Hong Kong39, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds40, Royal Botanic Gardens41, Environmental Change Institute42, University of the Sunshine Coast43, Fleming College44, Sokoine University of Agriculture45, University of Southampton46, University of Lincoln47, University of Florence48, University of Aberdeen49, Innovate UK50, National University of Singapore51, Washington State University Vancouver52, Yale University53, University of Nottingham54, Florida International University55, Université libre de Bruxelles56, Bangor University57, University of Liberia58
TL;DR: Overall, the uptake of carbon into Earth’s intact tropical forests peaked in the 1990s and independent observations indicating greater recent carbon uptake into the Northern Hemisphere landmass reinforce the conclusion that the intact tropical forest carbon sink has already peaked.
Abstract: Structurally intact tropical forests sequestered about half of the global terrestrial carbon uptake over the 1990s and early 2000s, removing about 15 per cent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Climate-driven vegetation models typically predict that this tropical forest ‘carbon sink’ will continue for decades. Here we assess trends in the carbon sink using 244 structurally intact African tropical forests spanning 11 countries, compare them with 321 published plots from Amazonia and investigate the underlying drivers of the trends. The carbon sink in live aboveground biomass in intact African tropical forests has been stable for the three decades to 2015, at 0.66 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year (95 per cent confidence interval 0.53–0.79), in contrast to the long-term decline in Amazonian forests. Therefore the carbon sink responses of Earth’s two largest expanses of tropical forest have diverged. The difference is largely driven by carbon losses from tree mortality, with no detectable multi-decadal trend in Africa and a long-term increase in Amazonia. Both continents show increasing tree growth, consistent with the expected net effect of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide and air temperature. Despite the past stability of the African carbon sink, our most intensively monitored plots suggest a post-2010 increase in carbon losses, delayed compared to Amazonia, indicating asynchronous carbon sink saturation on the two continents. A statistical model including carbon dioxide, temperature, drought and forest dynamics accounts for the observed trends and indicates a long-term future decline in the African sink, whereas the Amazonian sink continues to weaken rapidly. Overall, the uptake of carbon into Earth’s intact tropical forests peaked in the 1990s. Given that the global terrestrial carbon sink is increasing in size, independent observations indicating greater recent carbon uptake into the Northern Hemisphere landmass reinforce our conclusion that the intact tropical forest carbon sink has already peaked. This saturation and ongoing decline of the tropical forest carbon sink has consequences for policies intended to stabilize Earth’s climate.
395 citations
••
TL;DR: The potential benefits of a well-timed IFN-I treatment and strategies to boost pDC-mediated IFN responses during the early stages of viral infection are discussed.
Abstract: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the current COVID-19 pandemic. An unbalanced immune response, characterized by a weak production of type I interferons (IFN-Is) and an exacerbated release of proinflammatory cytokines, contributes to the severe forms of the disease. SARS-CoV-2 is genetically related to SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which caused outbreaks in 2003 and 2013, respectively. Although IFN treatment gave some encouraging results against SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV in animal models, its potential as a therapeutic against COVID-19 awaits validation. Here, we describe our current knowledge of the complex interplay between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the IFN system, highlighting some of the gaps that need to be filled for a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms. In addition to the conserved IFN evasion strategies that are likely shared with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, novel counteraction mechanisms are being discovered in SARS-CoV-2-infected cells. Since the last coronavirus epidemic, we have made considerable progress in understanding the IFN-I response, including its spatiotemporal regulation and the prominent role of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which are the main IFN-I-producing cells. While awaiting the results of the many clinical trials that are evaluating the efficacy of IFN-I alone or in combination with antiviral molecules, we discuss the potential benefits of a well-timed IFN-I treatment and propose strategies to boost pDC-mediated IFN responses during the early stages of viral infection.
••
TL;DR: Evaluating and assessing factors are key to better understanding the impact of the pandemic on ED risk and recovery and to inform resource dissemination and targets.
Abstract: The current COVID-19 pandemic has created a global context likely to increase eating disorder (ED) risk and symptoms, decrease factors that protect against EDs, and exacerbate barriers to care. Three pathways exist by which this pandemic may exacerbate ED risk. One, the disruptions to daily routines and constraints to outdoor activities may increase weight and shape concerns, and negatively impact eating, exercise, and sleeping patterns, which may in turn increase ED risk and symptoms. Relatedly, the pandemic and accompanying social restrictions may deprive individuals of social support and adaptive coping strategies, thereby potentially elevating ED risk and symptoms by removing protective factors. Two, increased exposure to ED-specific or anxiety-provoking media, as well as increased reliance on video conferencing, may increase ED risk and symptoms. Three, fears of contagion may increase ED symptoms specifically related to health concerns, or by the pursuit of restrictive diets focused on increasing immunity. In addition, elevated rates of stress and negative affect due to the pandemic and social isolation may also contribute to increasing risk. Evaluating and assessing these factors are key to better understanding the impact of the pandemic on ED risk and recovery and to inform resource dissemination and targets.
••
University Hospital Regensburg1, University of California, San Diego2, University of Tokyo3, University of Montpellier4, University of Southern Denmark5, Leipzig University6, University of Göttingen7, Swansea University8, Medical University of Graz9, Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering & Bioscience10, University of Colorado Denver11, Cardiff University12, University of Graz13, Babraham Institute14
TL;DR: An update on both the LIPID MAPS classification system and shorthand notation of lipid structures is presented, and annotation of atoms is included for the use of stable isotope-labeled compounds in metabolic labeling experiments or as internal standards.
••
TL;DR: The development of applications like lidR are of fundamental importance for developing transparent, flexible and open ALS tools to ensure not only reproducible workflows, but also to offer researchers the creative space required for the progress and development of the discipline.
••
Free University of Berlin1, Leipzig University2, University of Wyoming3, Wageningen University and Research Centre4, University of Göttingen5, Florida International University6, Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg7, University of Toulouse8, University of Montpellier9, Oak Ridge National Laboratory10, Max Planck Society11, Morton Arboretum12, University of Manchester13
TL;DR: A holistic view of the belowground economy is taken and it is shown that root-mycorrhizal collaboration can short circuit a one-dimensional economic spectrum, providing an entire space of economic possibilities.
Abstract: Plant economics run on carbon and nutrients instead of money. Leaf strategies aboveground span an economic spectrum from "live fast and die young" to "slow and steady," but the economy defined by root strategies belowground remains unclear. Here, we take a holistic view of the belowground economy and show that root-mycorrhizal collaboration can short circuit a one-dimensional economic spectrum, providing an entire space of economic possibilities. Root trait data from 1810 species across the globe confirm a classical fast-slow "conservation" gradient but show that most variation is explained by an orthogonal "collaboration" gradient, ranging from "do-it-yourself" resource uptake to "outsourcing" of resource uptake to mycorrhizal fungi. This broadened "root economics space" provides a solid foundation for predictive understanding of belowground responses to changing environmental conditions.
••
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden1, Boston University2, University of Montpellier3, University of Vienna4, Memorial University of Newfoundland5, National University of Singapore6, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research7, James Hutton Institute8, James Cook University9, University of Wisconsin-Madison10, Portland State University11, University of Guelph12
TL;DR: This editorial can only be a snapshot of a quickly evolving situation, but it hopes that it can offer some encouragement and insights for colleagues in lockdown and how the conservation community must be ready to respond.
••
TL;DR: The World Karst Aquifer Map (WOKAM) as discussed by the authors is the first detailed and complete global geodatabase concerning the distribution of karstifiable rocks (carbonates and evaporites) representing potential karast aquifers.
Abstract: Karst regions offer a variety of natural resources such as freshwater and biodiversity, and many cultural resources. The World Karst Aquifer Map (WOKAM) is the first detailed and complete global geodatabase concerning the distribution of karstifiable rocks (carbonates and evaporites) representing potential karst aquifers. This study presents a statistical evaluation of WOKAM, focusing entirely on karst in carbonate rocks and addressing four main aspects: (1) global occurrence and geographic distribution of karst; (2) karst in various topographic settings and coastal areas; (3) karst in different climatic zones; and (4) populations living on karst. According to the analysis, 15.2% of the global ice-free continental surface is characterized by the presence of karstifiable carbonate rock. The largest percentage is in Europe (21.8%); the largest absolute area occurs in Asia (8.35 million km2). Globally, 31.1% of all surface exposures of carbonate rocks occur in plains, 28.1% in hills and 40.8% in mountains, and 151,400 km or 15.7% of marine coastlines are characterized by carbonate rocks. About 34.2% of all carbonate rocks occur in arid climates, followed by 28.2% in cold and 15.9% in temperate climates, whereas only 13.1 and 8.6% occur in tropical and polar climates, respectively. Globally, 1.18 billion people (16.5% of the global population) live on karst. The highest absolute number occurs in Asia (661.7 million), whereas the highest percentages are in Europe (25.3%) and North America (23.5%). These results demonstrate the global importance of karst and serve as a basis for further research and international water management strategies.
••
TL;DR: This study underscores how a common practice in big data mapping studies shows an apparent high predictive power, even when predictors have poor relationships with the ecological variable of interest, thus possibly leading to erroneous maps and interpretations.
Abstract: Mapping aboveground forest biomass is central for assessing the global carbon balance. However, current large-scale maps show strong disparities, despite good validation statistics of their underlying models. Here, we attribute this contradiction to a flaw in the validation methods, which ignore spatial autocorrelation (SAC) in data, leading to overoptimistic assessment of model predictive power. To illustrate this issue, we reproduce the approach of large-scale mapping studies using a massive forest inventory dataset of 11.8 million trees in central Africa to train and validate a random forest model based on multispectral and environmental variables. A standard nonspatial validation method suggests that the model predicts more than half of the forest biomass variation, while spatial validation methods accounting for SAC reveal quasi-null predictive power. This study underscores how a common practice in big data mapping studies shows an apparent high predictive power, even when predictors have poor relationships with the ecological variable of interest, thus possibly leading to erroneous maps and interpretations. Mapping ecological variables using machine-learning algorithms based on remote-sensing data has become a widespread practice in ecology. Here, the authors use forest biomass mapping as a study case to show that the most common model validation approach, which ignores data spatial structure, leads to overoptimistic assessment of model predictive power.
••
TL;DR: The 4LAC catalog of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope (4LAC) between 2008 August 4 and 2016 August 2 contains 2863 objects located at high Galactic latitudes (|b|>10°deg}).
Abstract: The fourth catalog of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) detected by the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope Large Area Telescope (4LAC) between 2008 August 4 and 2016 August 2 contains 2863 objects located at high Galactic latitudes (|b|>10{\deg}). It includes 85% more sources than the previous 3LAC catalog based on 4 years of data. AGNs represent at least 79% of the high-latitude sources in the fourth Fermi-Large Area Telescope Source Catalog (4FGL), which covers the energy range from 50 MeV to 1 TeV. In addition, 344 gamma-ray AGNs are found at low Galactic latitudes. Most of the 4LAC AGNs are blazars (98%), while the remainder are other types of AGNs. The blazar population consists of 24% Flat Spectrum Radio Quasars (FSRQs), 38% BL Lac-type objects (BL Lacs), and 38% blazar candidates of unknown types (BCUs). On average, FSRQs display softer spectra and stronger variability in the gamma-ray band than BL Lacs do, confirming previous findings. All AGNs detected by ground-based atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes are also found in the 4LAC.
••
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate for the first time, that platelets with resting platelets, contain whole functional mitochondria in normal physiological state, and that normal and tumor cultured cells are able to secrete their mitochondria.
Abstract: Mitochondria are considered as the power-generating units of the cell due to their key role in energy metabolism and cell signaling. However, mitochondrial components could be found in the extracellular space, as fragments or encapsulated in vesicles. In addition, this intact organelle has been recently reported to be released by platelets exclusively in specific conditions. Here, we demonstrate for the first time, that blood preparation with resting platelets, contains whole functional mitochondria in normal physiological state. Likewise, we show, that normal and tumor cultured cells are able to secrete their mitochondria. Using serial centrifugation or filtration followed by polymerase chain reaction-based methods, and Whole Genome Sequencing, we detect extracellular full-length mitochondrial DNA in particles over 0.22 µm holding specific mitochondrial membrane proteins. We identify these particles as intact cell-free mitochondria using fluorescence-activated cell sorting analysis, fluorescence microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Oxygen consumption analysis revealed that these mitochondria are respiratory competent. In view of previously described mitochondrial potential in intercellular transfer, this discovery could greatly widen the scope of cell-cell communication biology. Further steps should be developed to investigate the potential role of mitochondria as a signaling organelle outside the cell and to determine whether these circulating units could be relevant for early detection and prognosis of various diseases.
••
University of South Florida1, University of Montpellier2, Harvard University3, Paracelsus Private Medical University of Salzburg4, University of Birmingham5, Charité6, University of California, San Diego7, Brigham and Women's Hospital8, Leipzig University9, University of Würzburg10, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University11, University of Pittsburgh12
Abstract: Background: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) is increasingly used to treat cardiogenic shock. However, VA-ECMO might hamper myocardial recovery. The Impella unloads the le...
••
TL;DR: In this article, a review of recent findings concerning pickering emulsions, with a particular focus on how the nanoparticles morphology (i.e., cube, ellipsoid, nanosheet, sphere, cylinder, rod, peanut) influences the type and stability of such emulsion and their current applications in different fields such as antibacterial activity, protein recognition, catalysis, photocatalysis, and water purification.
••
University of Strasbourg1, University of Paris2, University of Paris-Est3, University of Lorraine4, French Institute of Health and Medical Research5, Aix-Marseille University6, University of Toulouse7, François Rabelais University8, University of Rouen9, University of Bordeaux10, University of Rennes11, University of Angers12, University of Caen Lower Normandy13, university of lille14, University of Montpellier15, Université Paris-Saclay16
TL;DR: Characteristics and clinical outcomes of recipients of kidney transplants included in the French nationwide Registry of Solid Organ Transplant Recipients with Covid-19 andMultivariable analysis identified overweight, fever, and dyspnea as independent risk factors for severe disease, whereas age over 60 years, cardiovascular disease, and Dyspnea were independently associated with mortality.
••
Humanitas University1, University of Cartagena2, University of Genoa3, Hebron University4, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna5, University of Helsinki6, Autonomous University of Barcelona7, University of Paris8, University of Montpellier9, Erasmus University Rotterdam10, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León11, Mayo Clinic12, Kırıkkale University13, University of São Paulo14, University of South Florida15, San Juan de Dios Educational Foundation16, University of Marburg17, Nippon Medical School18, Federal University of Paraná19, University of Missouri–Kansas City20, Royal Children's Hospital21, Tan Tock Seng Hospital22, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University23, Medical University of Vienna24, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine25, Charité26
TL;DR: A thorough and updated critical appraisal of the most frequently used diagnostic tests, both in vivo and in vitro, and discusses skin tests, challenges, and serological and cellular in vitro tests, and provides an overview of indications, advantages and disadvantages of each in conditions such as respiratory, food, venom, drug, and occupational allergy.
••
French Institute of Health and Medical Research1, University of Lyon2, University of Colorado Boulder3, Columbia University4, University of Göttingen5, University of Montpellier6, University of Minnesota7, University of Toronto8, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico9, Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University10
TL;DR: In ARDS patients, the change from supine to prone position generates a more even distribution of the gas–tissue ratios along the dependent–nondependent axis and a more homogeneous distribution of lung stress and strain.
Abstract: In ARDS patients, the change from supine to prone position generates a more even distribution of the gas–tissue ratios along the dependent–nondependent axis and a more homogeneous distribution of lung stress and strain. The change to prone position is generally accompanied by a marked improvement in arterial blood gases, which is mainly due to a better overall ventilation/perfusion matching. Improvement in oxygenation and reduction in mortality are the main reasons to implement prone position in patients with ARDS. The main reason explaining a decreased mortality is less overdistension in non-dependent lung regions and less cyclical opening and closing in dependent lung regions. The only absolute contraindication for implementing prone position is an unstable spinal fracture. The maneuver to change from supine to prone and vice versa requires a skilled team of 4–5 caregivers. The most frequent adverse events are pressure sores and facial edema. Recently, the use of prone position has been extended to non-intubated spontaneously breathing patients affected with COVID-19 ARDS. The effects of this intervention on outcomes are still uncertain.
••
TL;DR: A new, curated LR database is introduced and a novel regularized score is introduced to perform inferences about ligand–receptor interactions underlying cellular networks, and for the first time, the confidence in predicted LR interactions is assessed.
Abstract: Single-cell transcriptomics offers unprecedented opportunities to infer the ligand-receptor (LR) interactions underlying cellular networks. We introduce a new, curated LR database and a novel regularized score to perform such inferences. For the first time, we try to assess the confidence in predicted LR interactions and show that our regularized score outperforms other scoring schemes while controlling false positives. SingleCellSignalR is implemented as an open-access R package accessible to entry-level users and available from https://github.com/SCA-IRCM. Analysis results come in a variety of tabular and graphical formats. For instance, we provide a unique network view integrating all the intercellular interactions, and a function relating receptors to expressed intracellular pathways. A detailed comparison of related tools is conducted. Among various examples, we demonstrate SingleCellSignalR on mouse epidermis data and discover an oriented communication structure from external to basal layers.
••
California Institute of Technology1, United States Department of Agriculture2, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology3, McMaster University4, University of California, Berkeley5, University of Montpellier6, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign7, Dresden University of Technology8, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory9, Ohio State University10, University of Kansas11, University of Alberta12, United States Environmental Protection Agency13, University of Wisconsin-Madison14, University of Liège15, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic16, University of California, Irvine17, University of Minnesota18, University of British Columbia19, Washington State University20, Texas A&M University21, Harvard University22, International Trademark Association23, Northern Arizona University24, Forschungszentrum Jülich25, Weizmann Institute of Science26, Georgia Institute of Technology27, Marshall Space Flight Center28, Princeton University29
TL;DR: In 2018, the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) was launched to the International Space Station by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Abstract: The ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) was launched to the International Space Station on 29 June 2018 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The primary science focus of ECOSTRESS is centered on evapotranspiration (ET), which is produced as Level-3 (L3) latent heat flux (LE) data products. These data are generated from the Level-2 land surface temperature and emissivity product (L2_LSTE), in conjunction with ancillary surface and atmospheric data. Here, we provide the first validation (Stage 1, preliminary) of the global ECOSTRESS clear-sky ET product (L3_ET_PT-JPL, Version 6.0) against LE measurements at 82 eddy covariance sites around the world. Overall, the ECOSTRESS ET product performs well against the site measurements (clear-sky instantaneous/time of overpass: r(2) = 0.88; overall bias = 8%; normalized root-mean-square error, RMSE = 6%). ET uncertainty was generally consistent across climate zones, biome types, and times of day (ECOSTRESS samples the diurnal cycle), though temperate sites are overrepresented. The 70-m-high spatial resolution of ECOSTRESS improved correlations by 85%, and RMSE by 62%, relative to 1-km pixels. This paper serves as a reference for the ECOSTRESS L3 ET accuracy and Stage 1 validation status for subsequent science that follows using these data.
••
TL;DR: The role of comorbidity and socio-economic factors as possible drivers of COVID-19 case fatality rate at the population level is emphasized and several factors associated with temporal changes in casefatality rate are found.
Abstract: While the epidemic of SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide, there is much concern over the mortality rate that the infection induces. Available data suggest that COVID-19 case fatality rate had varied temporally (as the epidemic has progressed) and spatially (among countries). Here, we attempted to identify key factors possibly explaining the variability in case fatality rate across countries. We used data on the temporal trajectory of case fatality rate provided by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, and country-specific data on different metrics describing the incidence of known comorbidity factors associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 mortality at the individual level. We also compiled data on demography, economy and political regimes for each country. We found that temporal trajectories of case fatality rate greatly vary among countries. We found several factors associated with temporal changes in case fatality rate both among variables describing comorbidity risk and demographic, economic and political variables. In particular, countries with the highest values of DALYs lost to cardiovascular, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases had the highest values of COVID-19 CFR. CFR was also positively associated with the death rate due to smoking in people over 70 years. Interestingly, CFR was negatively associated with share of death due to lower respiratory infections. Among the demographic, economic and political variables, CFR was positively associated with share of the population over 70, GDP per capita, and level of democracy, while it was negatively associated with number of hospital beds ×1000. Overall, these results emphasize the role of comorbidity and socio-economic factors as possible drivers of COVID-19 case fatality rate at the population level.
••
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital1, Yale University2, University of Alcalá3, Harvard University4, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center5, University of Insubria6, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston7, University of Liverpool8, Chinese PLA General Hospital9, Huazhong University of Science and Technology10, Jean Monnet University11, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics12, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania13, Veterans Health Administration14, University of Vermont15, University of Montpellier16, Westmead Hospital17, Loyola University Medical Center18, NorthShore University HealthSystem19, University of Chicago20, University of Milan21, Auckland City Hospital22, St Thomas' Hospital23, Hofstra University24, University of Michigan25, Population Health Research Institute26, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University27, McMaster University28, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute29, Brigham and Women's Hospital30, Vanderbilt University31, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai32, University of Cologne33, Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia34, University of Mainz35, Aalborg University36
TL;DR: Novel dosing approaches are described for commonly used antithrombotic agents (especially heparin-based regimens) and the potential use of less widely used antithsombotic drugs in the absence of confirmed thrombosis.
Abstract: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), currently a worldwide pandemic, is a viral illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The suspected contribution of thrombotic events to morbidity and mortality in COVID-19 patients has prompted a search for novel potential options for preventing COVID-19-associated thrombotic disease. In this article by the Global COVID-19 Thrombosis Collaborative Group, we describe novel dosing approaches for commonly used antithrombotic agents (especially heparin-based regimens) and the potential use of less widely used antithrombotic drugs in the absence of confirmed thrombosis. Although these therapies may have direct antithrombotic effects, other mechanisms of action, including anti-inflammatory or antiviral effects, have been postulated. Based on survey results from this group of authors, we suggest research priorities for specific agents and subgroups of patients with COVID-19. Further, we review other agents, including immunomodulators, that may have antithrombotic properties. It is our hope that the present document will encourage and stimulate future prospective studies and randomized trials to study the safety, efficacy, and optimal use of these agents for prevention or management of thrombosis in COVID-19.
••
Harvard University1, Erasmus University Rotterdam2, Imperial College London3, University of Montpellier4, Boston University5, University of Washington6, University of Bordeaux7, University of Gothenburg8, University of Pittsburgh9, University of Iceland10, Kaiser Permanente11, National Institutes of Health12, Newcastle University13, University of Mississippi Medical Center14, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio15
TL;DR: The incidence rate of dementia in Europe and North America has declined by 13% per decade over the past 25 years, consistently across studies, and somewhat more pronouncedly in men than in women.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To determine changes in the incidence of dementia between 1988 and 2015. METHODS: This analysis was performed in aggregated data from individuals >65 years of age in 7 population-based cohort studies in the United States and Europe from the Alzheimer Cohort Consortium. First, we calculated age- and sex-specific incidence rates for all-cause dementia, and then defined nonoverlapping 5-year epochs within each study to determine trends in incidence. Estimates of change per 10-year interval were pooled and results are presented combined and stratified by sex. RESULTS: Of 49,202 individuals, 4,253 (8.6%) developed dementia. The incidence rate of dementia increased with age, similarly for women and men, ranging from about 4 per 1,000 person-years in individuals aged 65-69 years to 65 per 1,000 person-years for those aged 85-89 years. The incidence rate of dementia declined by 13% per calendar decade (95% confidence interval [CI], 7%-19%), consistently across studies, and somewhat more pronouncedly in men than in women (24% [95% CI 14%-32%] vs 8% [0%-15%]). CONCLUSION: The incidence rate of dementia in Europe and North America has declined by 13% per decade over the past 25 years, consistently across studies. Incidence is similar for men and women, although declines were somewhat more profound in men. These observations call for sustained efforts to finding the causes for this decline, as well as determining their validity in geographically and ethnically diverse populations.