Effect of human vicinity on antimicrobial resistance and integrons in animal faecal Escherichia coli”.

Objectives: To determine the level of antimicrobial resistance and the occurrence of class 1, 2 and 3 integrons in faecal Escherichia coli from several animal populations variously exposed to human contact. Methods: A collection of 341 faecal E. coli isolates was constituted from several animal populations subject to various degrees of exposure to humans: 18 animals never exposed to humans (living in the Antarctic or Gabon), 71 wild animals living in a low human density area (mountainous region of the Pyrenees, France), 61 wild animals living in a higher human density area (Fontainebleau forest near Paris, France), and 128 extensively reared farm animals and 42 pet dogs, both living in the Pyrenees. Resistance to antimicrobial agents was determined by the method of disc diffusion and quantified using the resistance score of BE Murray, JJ Mathewson, HL DuPont, CD Ericsson and RR Reves (Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 1990; 34: 515-18). Integrons were characterized by triplex realtime PCR and sequencing. The absence of epidemiologic clones was confirmed by PCR-based methods. Results: A gradient of resistance ranging from absence to high prevalence (resistance score of 18.7%) and a gradual increase in the prevalence of class 1 integrons (from 0% to 16%), both correlated with the increase in exposure to humans, were observed. In wild animals with little contact with humans, resistance, when present, was not mediated by integrons. Conclusions: Our findings firmly establish that the current prevalence of antimicrobial resistance found in animal faecal bacteria, as well as the prevalence of integrons, is clearly anthropogenic. The presence of integrons may constitute an adaptive process to environments whose antimicrobial pressure exceeds a certain threshold

Establishing an online resource to facilitate global collaboration and inclusion of underrepresented populations:Experience from the MJFF Global Genetic Parkinson's Disease Project

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disorder, currently affecting ~7 million people worldwide. PD is clinically and genetically heterogeneous, with at least 10% of all cases explained by a monogenic cause or strong genetic risk factor. However, the vast majority of our present data on monogenic PD is based on the investigation of patients of European White ancestry, leaving a large knowledge gap on monogenic PD in underrepresented populations. Gene-targeted therapies are being developed at a fast pace and have started entering clinical trials. In light of these developments, building a global network of centers working on monogenic PD, fostering collaborative research, and establishing a clinical trial-ready cohort is imperative. Based on a systematic review of the English literature on monogenic PD and a successful team science approach, we have built up a network of 59 sites worldwide and have collected information on the availability of data, biomaterials, and facilities. To enable access to this resource and to foster collaboration across centers, as well as between academia and industry, we have developed an interactive map and online tool allowing for a quick overview of available resources, along with an option to filter for specific items of interest. This initiative is currently being merged with the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2), which will attract additional centers with a focus on underrepresented sites. This growing resource and tool will facilitate collaborative research and impact the development and testing of new therapies for monogenic and potentially for idiopathic PD patients.</p

: Commensal Escherichia coli ecological structure

International audienceTo identify forces shaping the Escherichia coli intraspecies ecological structure, we have characterized in terms of phylogenetic group (A, B1, D and B2) belonging, presence/absence of extraintestinal virulence genes (pap, sfa, hly and aer) and intra-host phylotype diversity a collection of 1898 commensal isolates originating from 387 animals (birds and mammals) sampled in the 1980s and the 2000s. These data have been compared with 760 human commensal isolates, sampled from 152 healthy subjects in the 2000s, and analysed with the same approach. The prevalence of the E. coli phylogenetic groups in birds, non-human mammals and humans is clearly different with a predominance of D/B1, A/B1 and A/B2 strains respectively. A major force shaping the ecological structure is the environment with a strong effect of domestication and the year of sampling followed by the climate. Host characteristics, as the diet and body mass, also influence the ecological structure. Human microbiota are characterized by a higher prevalence of virulence genes and a lower intra-host diversity than the non-human mammal ones. This work identifies for the first time a group of strains specific to the animals, the B1 phylogenetic group strains exhibiting the hly gene. In conclusion, a complex network of factors seems to shape the ecological structure of commensal E. coli, with anthropogenic factors playing a major role and perturbing natural niche equilibrium

High Frequency of Mutator Strains among Human Uropathogenic Escherichia coli Isolates

By using a panel of 603 commensal and pathogenic Escherichia coli and Shigella isolates, we showed that mutation rates of strains vary considerably among different ecotypes. Uropathogenic strains had the highest frequency of mutators, while strains from patients with bacteremia had the lowest mutation rates. No correlation between the mutation rates and antibiotic resistance was observed among the studied strains

Écriture et identités dans la nouvelle fiction romanesque

Les liens entre le littéraire et l’identitaire constituent le fil conducteur des travaux de spécialistes de différentes littératures des pays de langues romanes regroupés dans cet ouvrage. Ils interrogent la production romanesque actuelle (de 1980 à nos jours) tout en privilégiant la problématique identitaire et les rapports entre mémoire, histoire et fiction. Ainsi, cet ouvrage vise à établir un état des lieux de cette production à partir de paramètres formels et thématiques bien délimités. Ceux-ci concernent aussi bien l’identité du récit actuel – en se penchant sur les nouvelles stratégies d’écriture et les nouvelles formes romanesques – que les figurations identitaires qu’il produit ou qu'il déconstruit. C’est autour de ces deux grands axes que s’articulent les contributions réunies ici pour cerner les lignes directrices et les évolutions perceptibles de la production romanesque contemporaine. Cet ouvrage donne au lecteur quelques clés pour mieux comprendre les enjeux d'une modernité fictionnelle en phase avec son temps

Chiropractic Day 2023: A Report and Qualitative Analysis of How Thought Leaders Celebrate the Present and Envision the Future of Chiropractic

Objective This study aimed to (1) collect and analyze statements about how to celebrate chiropractic in the present and roles that chiropractors may fulfill in the future, (2) identify if there was congruence among the themes between present and future statements, and (3) offer a model about the chiropractic profession that captures its complex relationships that encompass its interactions within microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem levels. Methods For this qualitative analysis, we used pattern and grounded theory approaches. A purposive sample of thought leaders in the chiropractic profession were invited to answer the following 2 open-ended questions: (1) envision the chiropractor of the future, and (2) recommendations on how to celebrate chiropractic. Information was collected during April 2023 using Survey Monkey. The information was entered into a spreadsheet and analyzed for topic clusters, which resulted in matching concepts with social-ecological themes. The themes between the responses to the 2 questions were analyzed for congruence. We used the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research to report our findings. Results Of the 54 experts invited, 32 (59%) participated. Authors represented 7 countries and have a median of 32 years of chiropractic experience, with a range of 5 to 51 years. Nineteen major topics in the future statements and 23 major topics in statements about celebrating chiropractic were combined in a model. The topics were presented using the 4 levels of the social-ecological framework. Individual (microsystem): chiropractors are competent, well-educated experts in spine and musculoskeletal care who apply evidence-based practices, which is a combination of the best available evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values. Interpersonal relationships (mesosystem): chiropractors serve the best interests of their patients, provide person-centered care, embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, consider specific health needs and the health of the whole person. Community (exosystem): chiropractors provide care within integrated health care environments and in private practices, serve the best interests of the public through participation in their communities, participate through multidisciplinary collaboration with and within the health care system, and work together as a profession with a strong professional identity. Societal (macrosystem): chiropractors contribute to the greater good of society and participate on a global level in policy, leadership, and research. There was concordance between both the future envisioning statements and the present celebration recommendations, which suggest logical validity based on the congruence of these concepts. Conclusion A sample of independent views, including the perceptions from a broad range of chiropractic thought leaders from various backgrounds, philosophies, diversity characteristics, and world regions, were assembled to create a comprehensive model of the chiropractic profession. The resulting model shows an array of intrinsic values and provides the roles that chiropractors may provide to serve patients and the public. This study offers insights into the roles that future chiropractors may fulfill and how these are congruent with present-day values. These core concepts and this novel model may have utility during dialogs about identity, applications regarding chiropractic in policy, practice, education, and research, and building positive relationships and collaborations

A roadmap for the functional annotation of protein families: a community perspective.

Funder: U.S. National Library of MedicineOver the last 25 years, biology has entered the genomic era and is becoming a science of 'big data'. Most interpretations of genomic analyses rely on accurate functional annotations of the proteins encoded by more than 500 000 genomes sequenced to date. By different estimates, only half the predicted sequenced proteins carry an accurate functional annotation, and this percentage varies drastically between different organismal lineages. Such a large gap in knowledge hampers all aspects of biological enterprise and, thereby, is standing in the way of genomic biology reaching its full potential. A brainstorming meeting to address this issue funded by the National Science Foundation was held during 3-4 February 2022. Bringing together data scientists, biocurators, computational biologists and experimentalists within the same venue allowed for a comprehensive assessment of the current state of functional annotations of protein families. Further, major issues that were obstructing the field were identified and discussed, which ultimately allowed for the proposal of solutions on how to move forward

Establishing an online resource to facilitate global collaboration and inclusion of underrepresented populations: Experience from the MJFF Global Genetic Parkinson's Disease Project.

Acknowledgements: The authors would like to thank all contributing researchers for supporting this project.Parkinson's disease (PD) is the fastest-growing neurodegenerative disorder, currently affecting ~7 million people worldwide. PD is clinically and genetically heterogeneous, with at least 10% of all cases explained by a monogenic cause or strong genetic risk factor. However, the vast majority of our present data on monogenic PD is based on the investigation of patients of European White ancestry, leaving a large knowledge gap on monogenic PD in underrepresented populations. Gene-targeted therapies are being developed at a fast pace and have started entering clinical trials. In light of these developments, building a global network of centers working on monogenic PD, fostering collaborative research, and establishing a clinical trial-ready cohort is imperative. Based on a systematic review of the English literature on monogenic PD and a successful team science approach, we have built up a network of 59 sites worldwide and have collected information on the availability of data, biomaterials, and facilities. To enable access to this resource and to foster collaboration across centers, as well as between academia and industry, we have developed an interactive map and online tool allowing for a quick overview of available resources, along with an option to filter for specific items of interest. This initiative is currently being merged with the Global Parkinson's Genetics Program (GP2), which will attract additional centers with a focus on underrepresented sites. This growing resource and tool will facilitate collaborative research and impact the development and testing of new therapies for monogenic and potentially for idiopathic PD patients