Marburg Virus Infection Detected in a Common African Bat

Marburg and Ebola viruses can cause large hemorrhagic fever (HF) outbreaks with high case fatality (80–90%) in human and great apes. Identification of the natural reservoir of these viruses is one of the most important topics in this field and a fundamental key to understanding their natural history. Despite the discovery of this virus family almost 40 years ago, the search for the natural reservoir of these lethal pathogens remains an enigma despite numerous ecological studies. Here, we report the discovery of Marburg virus in a common species of fruit bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in Gabon as shown by finding virus-specific RNA and IgG antibody in individual bats. These Marburg virus positive bats represent the first naturally infected non-primate animals identified. Furthermore, this is the first report of Marburg virus being present in this area of Africa, thus extending the known range of the virus. These data imply that more areas are at risk for MHF outbreaks than previously realized and correspond well with a recently published report in which three species of fruit bats were demonstrated to be likely reservoirs for Ebola virus

Implicações da Inteligência Artificial na Auditoria Interna no Brasil: Análise sob a Percepção de Profissionais

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar a percepção de auditores internos do Brasil, com relação às implicações da inteligência artificial nas atribuições, processos e resultados de trabalhos de auditoria interna. Optou-se por um estudo exploratório, sendo a coleta de dados primários feita através de questionário, que utilizou a escala Likert para apurar as percepções de 52 profissionais da área de auditoria interna. Além da Análise Exploratória de Dados, foram feitas tabulações cruzadas das respostas, validadas por testes Qui-Quadrado. Foram identificadas evidências de que a Inteligência Artificial (IA) poderá ser uma aliada aos trabalhos de auditoria, apesar da maioria dos respondentes mencionar que a mesma não é indispensável para a área. Observou-se que o método tradicional de trabalho tende a ser substituído por novas tecnologias, apesar de que os conhecimentos dos profissionais da área de auditoria ainda são básicos e que os métodos convencionais são predominantes, uma vez que os processos de natureza manual ainda são maioria nas empresas. Identificou-se que o custo benefício de uma implementação tecnológica na área de auditoria é benéfico e que técnicas de automação poderão ser utilizadas para fazer julgamentos, apesar do fato deles não concordarem com o uso da IA para questões estratégicas de auditoria. A partir das constatações, percebeu-se que os respondentes tendem a valorizar a importância da IA e concordar que os procedimentos tradicionais estão se tornando defasados. No entanto, a mentalidade conservadora em meio ao aumento da complexidade dos negócios pode comprometer a auditoria interna, tornando-a menos eficaz em suas atividades. Ainda assim, mesmo que haja alguma resistência, a implementação das tecnologias nos procedimentos de auditoria interna parece ser inevitável, ainda que aconteça paulatinamente

Global economic costs of aquatic invasive alien species

Much research effort has been invested in understanding ecological impacts of invasive alien species (IAS) across ecosystems and taxonomic groups, but empirical studies about economic effects lack synthesis. Using a comprehensive global database, we determine patterns and trends in economic costs of aquatic IAS by examining: (i) the distribution of these costs across taxa, geographic regions and cost types; (ii) the temporal dynamics of global costs; and (iii) knowledge gaps, especially compared to terrestrial IAS. Based on the costs recorded from the existing literature, the global cost of aquatic IAS conservatively summed to US$345 billion, with the majority attributed to invertebrates (62$23 billion in 2020. Costs are likely considerably underrepresented compared to terrestrial IAS; only 5% of reported costs were from aquatic species, despite 26% of known invaders being aquatic. Additionally, only 1% of aquatic invasion costs were from marine species. Costs of aquatic IAS are thus substantial, but likely underreported. Costs have increased over time and are expected to continue rising with future invasions. We urge increased and improved cost reporting by managers, practitioners and researchers to reduce knowledge gaps. Few costs are proactive investments; increased management spending is urgently needed to prevent and limit current and future aquatic IAS damages

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)Swiss National Science Foundation | Ref. 200021_16959

J’irai dormir chez vous ! : Itinéraires et différences culturelles de l’hospitalité

National audienceHistoriquement liée aux notions de gratuité et de religiosité, l'hospitalité est aujourd'hui récupérée pour devenir un argument marchand de différenciation. L'objectif du présent travail est de poursuivre les questionnements autour de ce concept à travers l'analyse de l'émission J'irai dormir chez vous. Trois premiers approfondissements sont ici mis en avant : 1/ la méthode des itinéraires nous permet d'analyser le processus d'hospitalité ; 2/ les éléments, comme la spatialité, le don, les civilités viennent structurer l'hospitalité ; 3/ les représentations de l'hospitalité mobilisent des représentations sociales dans un basculement entre la figure du voyageur et celle du touriste. Abstract : Historically linked to gratuitousness and religiosity concepts, hospitableness is today used by business as a differentiation factor. The objective of the present research is to pursue the questioning on this specific concept based on the analysis of the " J'irai dormir chez vous " (I will sleep at yours) TV show. Three main developments are focused on: 1/ The itinerary method is used to analyze the hospitableness process; 2/ Conceptual elements as spatiality, donation and politeness structure hospitableness; 3/ Hospitableness frames mobilize social frames in a swing between the traveler and the tourist figures

From operando Raman mechanochemistry to "NMR crystallography": understanding the structures and interconversion of Zn-terephthalate networks using selective 17O-labelling.

The description of the formation, structure and reactivity of coordination networks and MOFs remains a real challenge in a number of cases. This is notably true for compounds composed of Zn2+ ions and terephthalate ligands (benzene 1,4-dicarboxylate, BDC), because of the difficulties in isolating them as pure phases and/or because of the presence of structural defects. Here, using mechanochemistry in combination with operando Raman spectroscopy, the observation of the formation of various zinc-terephthalate compounds was rendered possible, allowing the distinction and isolation of three intermediates during the ball-milling synthesis of Zn3(OH)4(BDC). An “NMR crystallography” approach was then used, combining solid-state NMR (1H, 13C and 17O) and DFT calculations, in order to refine the poorly described crystallographic structures of these phases. Particularly noteworthy are the high-resolution 17O NMR analyses, which were made possible in a highly efficient and cost-effective way, thanks to the selective 17O-enrichment of either hydroxyl or terephthalate groups by ball-milling. This allowed the presence of defect sites to be identified for the first time in one of the phases, and the nature of the H-bonding network of the hydroxyls to be established in another. Lastly, the possibility of using deuterated precursors (e.g. D2O and d4-BDC) during ball-milling is also introduced, as a means for observing specific transformations during operando Raman spectroscopy studies, that would not have been possible with hydrogenated equivalents. Overall, the synthetic and spectroscopic approaches developed herein are expected to push forward the understanding of the structure and reactivity of other complex coordination networks and MOFs

From Operando Raman Mechanochemistry to “NMR Crystallography”: Understanding the Structures and Interconversion of Zn-Terephthalate Networks Using Selective 17 O-Labeling

International audienceThe description of the formation, structure, and reactivity of coordination networks and metal−organic frameworks (MOFs) remains a real challenge in a number of cases. This is notably true for compounds composed of Zn 2+ ions and terephthalate ligands (benzene-1,4-dicarboxylate, BDC) because of the difficulties in isolating them as pure phases and/or because of the presence of structural defects. Here, using mechanochemistry in combination with operando Raman spectroscopy, the observation of the formation of various zinc terephthalate compounds was rendered possible, allowing the distinction and isolation of three intermediates during the ball-milling synthesis of Zn 3 (OH) 4 (BDC). An "NMR crystallography" approach was then used, combining solid-state NMR (1 H, 13 C, and 17 O) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to refine the poorly described crystallographic structures of these phases. Particularly noteworthy are the high-resolution 17 O NMR analyses, which were made possible in a highly efficient and cost-effective way, thanks to the selective 17 O-enrichment of either hydroxyl or terephthalate groups by ball-milling. This allowed the presence of defect sites to be identified for the first time in one of the phases, and the nature of the H-bonding network of the hydroxyls to be established in another. Lastly, the possibility of using deuterated precursors (e.g., D 2 O and d 4-BDC) during ball-milling is also introduced as a means for observing specific transformations during operando Raman spectroscopy studies, which would not have been possible with hydrogenated equivalents. Overall, the synthetic and spectroscopic approaches developed herein are expected to push forward the understanding of the structure and reactivity of other complex coordination networks and MOFs

Induction-heated ball-milling: a promising asset for mechanochemical reactions

While ball-milling is becoming one of the common tools used by synthetic chemists, an increasing number of studies highlight that it is possible to further expand the nature and number of products which can be synthesized, by heating the reaction media during mechanochemical reactions. Hence, developing set-ups enabling to combine heating and milling is an important target, which has been looked into in both academic and industrial laboratories. Here, we report a new approach for heating up reaction media during ball-milling reactions, using induction heating (referred to as i-BM). Our set-up is attractive not only because it enables a very fast heating of the milling medium (reaching ≈80 °C in just 15 s), and that it is directly adaptable to commercially-available milling equipment, but also because it enables heating either the walls of the milling jars or the beads themselves, depending on the choice of the materials which compose them. Importantly, the possibility to heat a milling medium “from the inside” (when using for example a PMMA jar and stainless steel beads) is a unique feature compared to previously proposed systems. Through numerical simulations, we then show that it is possible to finely tune the properties of this heating system (e.g. heating rate and maximum temperature reached), by playing with the characteristics of the milling system and/or the induction heating conditions used. Lastly, examples of applications of i-BM are given, showing how it can be used to help elucidate reaction mechanisms in ball-milling, to synthesize new molecules, and to control the physical nature of milling media

Operando acoustic analysis: a valuable method for investigating reaction mechanisms in mechanochemistry

We present a new operando approach for following reactions taking place in mechanochemistry, relying on the analysis of the evolution of the sound during milling. We show that differences in sound can be directly correlated to (physico)chemical changes in the reactor, making this technique attractive and complementary to others for monitoring mechanochemical reactions