Conservation of Salmonella Infection Mechanisms in Plants and Animals

Salmonella virulence in animals depends on effectors injected by Type III Secretion Systems (T3SSs). In this report we demonstrate that Salmonella mutants that are unable to deliver effectors are also compromised in infection of Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Transcriptome analysis revealed that in contrast to wild type bacteria, T3SS mutants of Salmonella are compromised in suppressing highly conserved Arabidopsis genes that play a prominent role during Salmonella infection of animals. We also found that Salmonella originating from infected plants are equally virulent for human cells and mice. These results indicate a high degree of conservation in the defense and infection mechanism of animal and plant hosts during Salmonella infection

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Prediction of dry matter intake of lactating dairy cows with daily live weight and milk production measurements

In dairy farming, monitoring tools are developing rapidly and the possibility of combining available data to generate additional information raises new questions. The high throughput body weight is a new and frequent phenotype on dairy farms. Feed intake monitoring in dairy cows remains largely absent, even though it is useful for herd management. The purpose of this work was to predict the dynamics of dry matter intake with a model using live weight, milk production and ration characteristics. This model is based on the assumption that changes in body weight are closely related to dry matter intake through two components: short-term changes in digestive content related to ingestion and long-term changes in body reserves, which are linked to the cumulative energy balance of the cow since calving. The energy balance results from the difference between the energy inputs from the ingested quantities and the energy requirements related to milk production. The model was tested in a trial with 65 cows receiving the same complete ration during the first 18 weeks of lactation. Observed individual intake was predicted well by the model, with average weekly errors of 2.3 kg, although the daily errors are still high (SD = 3.31 kg). Intake prediction during the first month of lactation showed a systematic bias and further investigation will be necessary to understand this bias and correct it

Empathy Display Influence on Human-Robot Interactions: a Pilot Study

International audienceSocial robots are designed to interact and communicate with humans. We have conducted a pilot study to explore how an artificial empathy module can affect Human-Robot Interactions. For that pilot study, we chose to evaluate the effects of a module we developed called "attention-based empathic module" and we set up an experiment within two conditions, "Empathy" (i.e., with this module), and "No-Empathy" (i.e., without this module). In order to define what aspects of HRI are affected, we used several metrics found in HRI literature including self-reported questionnaires-e.g., perceived empathy test-physiological measures-e.g., number of attentional disengagements-and objective measures-e.g., time of interaction, and performance. Dividing 36 participants into two groups and controlling the main biases inherent in subjects selection, we found that the "attention-based empathic module" seems to have affected 9 metrics: the interaction duration, how trustworthy the robot was perceived, the number of disengagements , how empathic the robot was perceived, how much participants felt they knew the robot, how the robot's intelligence was perceived, how comfortable the interaction was perceived, how much the robot was perceived as knowledgeable, and how engaging the interaction was perceived. Due to the exploratory approach of this study, these results have to be confirmed

First report of the intracellular fish parasite

Sphaerothecum destruens has emerged as a serious parasite of fish. Its life cycle, as well as its association with Asian cyprinids, allows it to infect a wide range of hosts. The topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva), an invasive species that has rapidly colonized Europe, has been shown to be a healthy carrier of the parasite. However, in France, the presence of S. destruens and its possible association with P. parva have not yet been demonstrated. Here, we screened topmouth gudgeon DNA for S. destruens using PCR amplification of an 18S rRNA gene fragment of the parasite. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis confirmed the presence of S. destruens in the invasive fish species. Our results suggest that P. parva can be a potent vector of the parasite, and has the potential to become a major ecological and economic threat to the French fish population

The RoPE Scale: a Measure of How Empathic a Robot is Perceived

International audienceTo be accepted in our everyday life and to be valuable interaction partners, robots should be able to display emotional and empathic behaviors. That is why there has been a great focus on developing empathy in robots in recent years. However, there is no consensus on how to measure how much a robot is considered to be empathic. In this context, we decided to construct a questionnaire which specifically measures the perception of a robot's empathy in human-robot interaction (HRI). Therefore we conducted pretests to generate items. These were validated by experts and will be further validated in an experimental setting

Panel final : « L’entreprise en crise ; les réponses du droit, de la fiscalité et de la gestion dans l’Union européenne et l’espace francophone »

Il s'agit du compte-rendu du panel final de la conférence sur L’entreprise en crise : regards croisés de la fiscalité, du droit et de la gestion dont les contributions sont présentées dans ce dossier spécial