Atomic layer fluorination of 5 V class positive electrode material LiCoPO4 for enhanced electrochemical performance

EJK would like to thank the Alistore ERI for the award of a studentship. The authors thank EPSRC Capital for Great Technologies Grant EP/L017008/1. The authors want to thank the French Research Network on the Electrochemical Energy Storage (RS2E) for YCB’s PhD grant. MD and NL are indebted to the IR-RMN-THC FR3050 CNRS for the spectrometer time access and the financial support of the NMR experiments.The surface fluorination of lithium cobalt phosphate (LiCoPO4, LCP) using a one‐step, room temperature processable, easily up‐scalable and dry surface modification method with XeF2 as fluorine source was developed. After fluorination, fluorine‐rich nanoparticles were observed mainly on the particle surface, which facilitates the improvement of surface stability and electrochemical performance such as cycling stability and rate capability, as the fluorinated LCP can be protected against side reactions with electrolyte or by‐products of electrolyte decomposition at high voltage (5 V). More importantly, the direct surface fluorination proved more efficient than adding a fluorinated electrolyte additive (i. e., FEC). These results suggest that surface fluorination using XeF2 is of great promise for practical applications of high voltage positive materials for lithium‐ion batteries.PostprintPeer reviewe

3D radiation therapy boost improves the outcome of whole brain radiation therapy treated RPA II patients with one or two brain metastases

PURPOSE: to evaluate the role of whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT) and radiation boost (RB) for 208 patients recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) II with 1 or 2 brain metastases (BM) at a single institution. METHODS AND MATERIALS: the dose of WBRT was 30 Gy (10 fractions of 3 Gy). One hundred thirty-two patients (63.5%) benefited from RB of 9 Gy in 3 fractions of 3 Gy at the metastatic site. Patients had 1 or 2 BM in 122 (58.7%) and 86 cases (41.3%), respectively. RESULTS: patients with one or two metastases had similar survival (4.6 and 5.1 months, respectively) (p = 0.4). Median overall survival (OS) for patients treated with WBRT and RB, and with WBRT alone was 5.9 and 3.7 months, respectively (p = 0.03). The 6-, 12- and 24-month OS rates after WBRT and RB were 48.5%, 25% and 10.6%, respectively, while WBRT alone resulted in OS rates of 34%, 22.4% and 3.2%, respectively (p = 0.03). After WBRT and RB, the 6-, 12- and 24-month local control rates were 92%, 82% and 67%, respectively, while they were 81.2%, 75% and 37.5%, respectively, after WBRT alone (p = 0.03). The 6-, 12- and 24-month brain control rates after WBRT and RB were 88.7%, 75.8% and 62%, respectively, and after WBRT alone they were 78.5%, 59% and 37.7%, respectively (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: additional boost delivered with 3D conformal radiotherapy improves local and brain control rates significantly as well as overall survival for RPA II patients with 1 or 2 unresectable BM

Effect of fixed orthodontic appliances on salivary microbial parameters at 6 months:a controlled observational study

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the microbial changes in children with fixed orthodontic appliances compared with a control group of children without orthodontic treatment. Material and Methods: Ninety-five children, aged between 12 and 16 years, participated in this study. Forty-eight subjects were fitted with fixed orthodontic appliances and forty-seven were free of any such appliances. The follow-up was 6 months for all children. The association between orthodontic appliances and high levels of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp was assessed with logistic regression models, taking age, sex, pH and buffer capacity into account. Results: Differences at baseline between the two groups were not statistically significant. We found that wearing a fixed orthodontic appliance was associated with high levels of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp (adjusted OR: 6.65, 95% CI [1.98-22.37]; 9.49, 95% CI [2.57-35.07], respectively), independently of other variables. Conclusion: The originality of the present epidemiological study was to evaluate the evolution of salivary microbial parameters in a population of children with fixed orthodontic appliances. Our results show an increase of Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus spp values during the follow-up. The whole dental workforce should be aware that preventive measures are of paramount importance during orthodontic treatment

The presence of four iron-containing superoxide dismutase isozymes in Trypanosomatidae : characterization, subcellular localization, and phylogenetic origin in Trypanosoma brucei

Author Posting. © The Authors, 2005. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B. V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine 40 (2006): 210-225, doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2005.06.021.Metalloenzymes such as the superoxide dismutases (SODs) form part of a defense mechanism that helps protect obligate and facultative aerobic organisms from oxygen toxicity and damage. Here, we report the presence in the trypanosomatid genomes of four SOD genes: soda, sodb1 and sodb2 and a newly identified sodc. All four genes of Trypanosoma brucei have been cloned (Tbsods), sequenced and overexpressed in Escherichia coli and shown to encode active dimeric FeSOD isozymes. Homology modelling of the structures of all four enzymes using available X-ray crystal structures of homologs showed that the four TbSOD structures were nearly identical. Subcellular localization using GFP-fusion proteins in procyclic insect trypomastigotes shows that TbSODB1 is mainly cytosolic, with a minor glycosomal component, TbSODB2 is mainly glycosomal with some activity in the cytosol and TbSODA and TbSODC are both mitochondrial isozymes. Phylogenetic studies of all available trypanosomatid SODs and 106 dimeric FeSODs and closely related cambialistic dimeric SOD sequences suggest that the trypanosomatid SODs have all been acquired by more than one event of horizontal gene transfer, followed by events of gene duplication.This work was supported by Interuniversity Attraction Pole programme of the Belgian Government P5/29 (to F.R.O.), the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, the Institut Pasteur de Lille, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (to E.V.). F.D. was supported by a grant from the Ministère Français de l’Education Nationale, de la Recherche et de la Technologie. D.G. was supported by an ICP postdoctoral fellowship

Evolutionarily diverse origins of deformed wing viruses in western honey bees

Novel transmission routes can allow infectious diseases to spread, often with devastating consequences. Ectoparasitic varroa mites vector a diversity of RNA viruses, having switched hosts from the eastern to western honey bees (Apis cerana to Apis mellifera). They provide an opportunity to explore how novel transmission routes shape disease epidemiology. As the principal driver of the spread of deformed wing viruses (mainly DWV-A and DWV-B), varroa infestation has also driven global honey bee health declines. The more virulent DWV-B strain has been replacing the original DWV-A strain in many regions over the past two decades. Yet, how these viruses originated and spread remains poorly understood. Here, we use a phylogeographic analysis based on whole-genome data to reconstruct the origins and demography of DWV spread. We found that, rather than reemerging in western honey bees after varroa switched hosts, as suggested by previous work, DWV-A most likely originated in East Asia and spread in the mid-20th century. It also showed a massive population size expansion following the varroa host switch. By contrast, DWV-B was most likely acquired more recently from a source outside East Asia and appears absent from the original varroa host. These results highlight the dynamic nature of viral adaptation, whereby a vector's host switch can give rise to competing and increasingly virulent disease pandemics. The evolutionary novelty and rapid global spread of these host-virus interactions, together with observed spillover into other species, illustrate how increasing globalization poses urgent threats to biodiversity and food security

Trends in invasive bacterial diseases during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic: analyses of prospective surveillance data from 30 countries and territories in the IRIS Consortium.

BACKGROUND The Invasive Respiratory Infection Surveillance (IRIS) Consortium was established to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on invasive diseases caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and Streptococcus agalactiae. We aimed to analyse the incidence and distribution of these diseases during the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the 2 years preceding the pandemic. METHODS For this prospective analysis, laboratories in 30 countries and territories representing five continents submitted surveillance data from Jan 1, 2018, to Jan 2, 2022, to private projects within databases in PubMLST. The impact of COVID-19 containment measures on the overall number of cases was analysed, and changes in disease distributions by patient age and serotype or group were examined. Interrupted time-series analyses were done to quantify the impact of pandemic response measures and their relaxation on disease rates, and autoregressive integrated moving average models were used to estimate effect sizes and forecast counterfactual trends by hemisphere. FINDINGS Overall, 116 841 cases were analysed: 76 481 in 2018-19, before the pandemic, and 40 360 in 2020-21, during the pandemic. During the pandemic there was a significant reduction in the risk of disease caused by S pneumoniae (risk ratio 0·47; 95% CI 0·40-0·55), H influenzae (0·51; 0·40-0·66) and N meningitidis (0·26; 0·21-0·31), while no significant changes were observed for S agalactiae (1·02; 0·75-1·40), which is not transmitted via the respiratory route. No major changes in the distribution of cases were observed when stratified by patient age or serotype or group. An estimated 36 289 (95% prediction interval 17 145-55 434) cases of invasive bacterial disease were averted during the first 2 years of the pandemic among IRIS-participating countries and territories. INTERPRETATION COVID-19 containment measures were associated with a sustained decrease in the incidence of invasive disease caused by S pneumoniae, H influenzae, and N meningitidis during the first 2 years of the pandemic, but cases began to increase in some countries towards the end of 2021 as pandemic restrictions were lifted. These IRIS data provide a better understanding of microbial transmission, will inform vaccine development and implementation, and can contribute to health-care service planning and provision of policies. FUNDING Wellcome Trust, NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Torsten Söderberg Foundation, Stockholm County Council, Swedish Research Council, German Federal Ministry of Health, Robert Koch Institute, Pfizer, Merck, and the Greek National Public Health Organization

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

Background: We previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15–20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in ~ 80% of cases. Methods: We report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded. Results: No gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5–528.7, P = 1.1 × 10−4) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR = 3.70[95%CI 1.3–8.2], P = 2.1 × 10−4). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR = 19.65[95%CI 2.1–2635.4], P = 3.4 × 10−3), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR = 4.40[9%CI 2.3–8.4], P = 7.7 × 10−8). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD] = 43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P = 1.68 × 10−5). Conclusions: Rare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old

Twist exome capture allows for lower average sequence coverage in clinical exome sequencing

Background Exome and genome sequencing are the predominant techniques in the diagnosis and research of genetic disorders. Sufficient, uniform and reproducible/consistent sequence coverage is a main determinant for the sensitivity to detect single-nucleotide (SNVs) and copy number variants (CNVs). Here we compared the ability to obtain comprehensive exome coverage for recent exome capture kits and genome sequencing techniques. Results We compared three different widely used enrichment kits (Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon V5, Agilent SureSelect Human All Exon V7 and Twist Bioscience) as well as short-read and long-read WGS. We show that the Twist exome capture significantly improves complete coverage and coverage uniformity across coding regions compared to other exome capture kits. Twist performance is comparable to that of both short- and long-read whole genome sequencing. Additionally, we show that even at a reduced average coverage of 70× there is only minimal loss in sensitivity for SNV and CNV detection. Conclusion We conclude that exome sequencing with Twist represents a significant improvement and could be performed at lower sequence coverage compared to other exome capture techniques