Autoantibodies against type I IFNs in patients with life-threatening COVID-19

Interindividual clinical variability in the course of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is vast. We report that at least 101 of 987 patients with life-threatening coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia had neutralizing immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies (auto-Abs) against interferon-w (IFN-w) (13 patients), against the 13 types of IFN-a (36), or against both (52) at the onset of critical disease; a few also had auto-Abs against the other three type I IFNs. The auto-Abs neutralize the ability of the corresponding type I IFNs to block SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. These auto-Abs were not found in 663 individuals with asymptomatic or mild SARS-CoV-2 infection and were present in only 4 of 1227 healthy individuals. Patients with auto-Abs were aged 25 to 87 years and 95 of the 101 were men. A B cell autoimmune phenocopy of inborn errors of type I IFN immunity accounts for life-threatening COVID-19 pneumonia in at least 2.6% of women and 12.5% of men

Copper concentration of vineyard soils as a function of pH variation and addition of poultry litter

Copper (Cu) concentration was evaluated as a function of pH variation and addition of poultry litter to a Dystrophic Lithic Udorthent and a Humic Dystrudept from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, cultivated with vines treated with successive applications of Cu-based product. Samples were collected from the surface layer (0 to 10 cm). Soluble Cu concentration was determined using DTPA and Mehlich III as extractants, and exchangeable Cu was determined in CaCl2. The availability of Cu was mainly affected by the soil pH. CaCl2 extractant had the best correlation with Cu concentration in contaminated soils, according to treatments applied. The addition of poultry litter did not reduce Cu availability in these soils. Total soil Cu content varied between 1,300 and 1,400 mg kg-1 in both soils. Copper available fractions, extracted by DTPA, CaCl2 and Mehlich III, averaged 35, 0.2 and 63%, respectively, of the total Cu present in the soil.<br>Avaliaram-se os teores de Cu em função da variação do pH e da adição de cama-de-frango de dois solos com elevados teores deste elemento. Foram coletadas amostras da camada superficial (0 a 10 cm) de um typical dystrophic Lithic Udorthent - LU (Neossolo Litólico distrófico típico) e de um Humic Dystrudept - HD (Cambissolo Húmico alumínico típico) da região da Serra do RS, cultivados com parreirais que receberam aplicações sucessivas de produtos à base de Cu. Foram determinados os teores de Cu solúvel em DTPA e pelo método Mehlich III, além do Cu trocável em CaCl2. A disponibilidade de Cu foi afetada principalmente pelo pH do solo. O extrator CaCl2 foi o que melhor se correlacionou com os teores de Cu em solos contaminados em função dos tratamentos aplicados. A adição de cama-de-frango não diminuiu a disponibilidade de Cu destes solos. Os teores de Cu total variaram entre 1.300 e 1.400 mg kg-1 nos dois solos. Considerando os teores totais de Cu nos solos, as frações "disponíveis", extraídas por DTPA, por CaCl2 e por Mehlich III representaram, em média, 35%, 0,20% e 63% do total de Cu presente no solo, respectivamente

HEAVY METALS IN VINEYARDS AND ORCHARD SOILS

The application of foliar fungicides in vineyards and orchards can increase soil concentration of heavy metals such as copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), up to the toxicity threshold for fruit trees and cover crops. However, some agronomic practices, such as liming, addition of organic fertilizers, cultivation of soil cover crops and inoculation of young plants with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can decrease the availability and the potential of heavy metal toxicity to fruit trees. This review aims to compile and present information about the effects of increasing concentrations of heavy metals, especially Cu and Zn, on soils cultivated with fruit trees and provides some agronomic practices of remediation. Information about the sources of heavy metals found in soils cultivated with fruit trees are presented; mechanisms of absorption, transport, accumulation and potential toxicity to plants are described

Multi-messenger Observations of a Binary Neutron Star Merger

International audienceOn 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of $\sim 1.7\,{\rm{s}}$ with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg(2) at a luminosity distance of ${40}_{-8}^{+8}$ Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 $\,{M}_{\odot }$. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at $\sim 40\,{\rm{Mpc}}$) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One-Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ∼10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position $\sim 9$ and $\sim 16$ days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC 4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta