Full genome characterization and phylogenetic analysis of hepatitis B virus in gibbons and a caretaker in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) from gibbons was characterized, and the possibility of horizontal transmission between gibbons and humans was examined in a gibbon rehabilitation center in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Ten gibbons that were positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) on arrival and 13 caretakers for those gibbons were included in this study. The duration of stay at the rehabilitation center ranged from 1 to 10 years. Serological and molecular analyses were performed. Six gibbons were positive for HBsAg, whereas HBV DNA was detected in all ten of the gibbons sampled. On the other hand, HBsAg was detected in only 1 of the 13 caretakers. HBV samples from seven gibbons and from the one infected human were chosen for complete genome sequencing. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that the cluster of gibbon strains in this study was distinct from strains previously reported from other countries. In the pre-S1 region, we found a unique amino acid residue substitution (P89K), three insertions between T87 and L88 in the genomes of three gibbons, and a 33-nucleotide deletion at the start of pre-S1 that is common in non-human primates. The caretaker sample was identified as HBV subgenotype B3, the most common type in Indonesia. For the complete HBV sequences, the similarity between gibbons in this study and other non-human primate and human HBV isolates was 90–91.9 % and 85.5–89.6 %, respectively. In conclusion, the gibbon HBV genotype was influenced by geographic location and species. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report characterizing the HBV genes and genomes of indigenous gibbons in Indonesia

Tricky Design Probes: Triggering Reflection on Design Research Methods

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Design Indirections: How Designers Find Their Ways in Shaping Algorithmic Systems

International audienceDigital products and services now commonly include algorithmic personalization or recommendation features. This has raised concerns of reduced user agency and their unequal treatment. Previous research hence called for increasing the participation of, among others, designers in the development of these features. To achieve this, researchers have suggested the development of better educational material and tools to enable prototyping with data and machine learning models. However, previous studies also suggest designers may find other ways to impact the development and implementation of such features, for instance through collaboration with data scientists. We build on that line of inquiry, through 19 in-depth interviews with designers working in small to large international companies to investigate how they actually intervene in shaping products including algorithmic features. We outline how designers intervene at different levels of the algorithmic systems: at a technical level, for instance by providing better input data ; at an interface or information architecture level, sometimes circumventing algorithmic discussions ; or at a organizational level, re-centering the outcome of algorithmic systems around product-centric questions. Building upon these results, we discuss how supporting designers engagement and influence on algorithmic systems may not only be a problem of technical literacy and adequate tooling. But that it may also involve a better awareness of the power of interface work, and a stronger negotiation skills and power literacy to engage in strategic discussions

Évaluation des performances de l’automate STA R Max® (Stago) pour les paramètres d’hémostase de routineEvaluation of the coagulometer STA R Max (R) (Stago) for routine coagulation parameters

International audienceLe STA R Max® (Stago) est un coagulomètre à détection viscosimétrique. Il est doté d’un logiciel innovant (le système STA Coag Expert®) comportant un menu « accréditation » et permet une traçabilité totale de 5 ans. Le but de cette étude était d’évaluer ses performances avec les 3 méthodes de détection embarquées en vue d’une vérification de méthode selon la norme ISO 15189. Ce travail s’est déroulé au sein du service d’hématologie biologique du CHU de Clermont-Ferrand qui possède 4 STA R Max® répartis sur 2 sites et dédiés à l’activité de routine d’hémostase. Les paramètres étudiés étaient les suivants : le taux de prothrombine (TP), les temps de céphaline avec activateurs (TCA et TCK), le fibrinogène, l’activité anti-Xa et les D-dimères ; chacun testé dans les zones normales et pathologiques. Pour les analyses TP, TCA, TCK et fibrinogène, les coefficients de variation (CV) des répétabilités étaient inférieurs à 4,0 %. Les CV de répétabilité de l’activité anti-Xa et des D-dimères étaient respectivement au maximum de 4,0 % et 7,9 %. Les CV de la fidélité intermédiaire étaient inférieurs à 5,0 % pour TP, TCA, TCK et fibrinogène, 14,9 % pour l’activité anti-Xa et 8,6 % pour les D-dimères. Le biais (évaluant l’inexactitude) était inférieur à 8,7 % pour le TP, TCA et TCK, à 5,0 % pour le fibrinogène et inférieur à 15,5 % pour l’activité anti-Xa. L’étude de la concordance entre les 4 automates (corrélation intra-classe) retrouvait des coefficients de corrélation intra-classe de 0,99 pour tous les paramètres sauf le TCA (0,98). La concordance entre les automates était excellente. L’ensemble des résultats obtenus sont satisfaisants au regard des recommandations du Groupe français d’études sur l’hémostase et la thrombose (GFHT) et le fournisseur. Le STA R Max® est un analyseur performant pour gérer l’activité d’hémostase de routine d’un laboratoire et présente l’avantage de faciliter la démarche d’accréditation

Detection of a new Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) group using acoustic call playback

Targeted management actions informed by robust data are needed to conserve species of extreme rarity, and assessing the effectiveness of different field methods for detection and monitoring of such species is a conservation priority. Gibbons are typically detected by their daily song through passive listening surveys, but lone gibbon individuals and low-density populations are less likely to sing, making detection difficult or impossible using standard survey techniques. Call playback represents an alternative potential method for detecting gibbon presence, but there has been no empirical evaluation of the usefulness of this method in the field. We investigated the efficacy of call playback as a survey method for detecting previously unconfirmed or unknown individuals of the Critically Endangered Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus), the world’s rarest primate, in patches of good-quality forest outside the current home ranges of the three known Hainan gibbon social groups in Bawangling National Nature Reserve, Hainan, China. Call playback led to detection of a male-only call likely to have been made by a solitary male, and a previously unknown social group comprising an adult male, adult female, and an infant, increasing the number of known breeding females in the global Hainan gibbon population from five to six. Call playback therefore represents an effective tool for improved monitoring of Hainan gibbons, as well as other gibbon populations; however, it is a moderately disruptive survey technique, and should be employed sparingly, in key locations, and for short periods of time only when attempting to detect gibbon presence