Cases of Impaired Oxidative Burst in HIV-Exposed Uninfected Infants’ Neutrophils—A Pilot Study

An increased risk of serious bacterial infections in HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) infants has been demonstrated. Although neutrophils are essential for the protection of infants against bacterial infections, no study has investigated their profile in HEU infants to date. In this study, we assessed the function of neutrophils in HEU infants using the nitroblue tetrazolium reduction test. Among 25 HEU infants, 9 (36%) showed a reduced ability of their neutrophils to produce reactive oxygen species upon stimulation with bacteria. No alteration of total neutrophil counts was noted in the blood of HEU infants indicating that the alteration observed in the 36% of HEU infants may only be functional. Conclusively, impaired neutrophil function could be a factor of vulnerability in HEU infants

DMTs and Covid-19 severity in MS: a pooled analysis from Italy and France

We evaluated the effect of DMTs on Covid-19 severity in patients with MS, with a pooled-analysis of two large cohorts from Italy and France. The association of baseline characteristics and DMTs with Covid-19 severity was assessed by multivariate ordinal-logistic models and pooled by a fixed-effect meta-analysis. 1066 patients with MS from Italy and 721 from France were included. In the multivariate model, anti-CD20 therapies were significantly associated (OR = 2.05, 95%CI = 1.39–3.02, p < 0.001) with Covid-19 severity, whereas interferon indicated a decreased risk (OR = 0.42, 95%CI = 0.18–0.99, p = 0.047). This pooled-analysis confirms an increased risk of severe Covid-19 in patients on anti-CD20 therapies and supports the protective role of interferon

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Protecting water from agricultural diffuse pollutions: between action territories and hydrogeological demarcation

The contamination of water resources by non-point pollution of agricultural origin, primarily nitrates and pesticides, has become a major issue in water policies. In France, the national consultation of the Grenelle of the Environment in 2007 led to project approaches, aimed at protecting Water Catchment Areas (WCA). Based on the implementation of preventive management, WCA projects aim at negotiating changes in farming practices in these zones, including conversion to organic farming. But difficulties occur in creating links between WCA and organic farming in these projects. Beyond the conflicts between different stakeholders often put forward, we suggest adopting a geographical approach on the interactions between WCA and the action territories of three types of stakeholders. A combination of statistical, GISprocessing and comprehensive methods was used to study the cross-referencing between WCA, defined according to hydrogeological bases, and action territories of farmers, collection companies and local a thorities. The results show how the demarcation of the water catchment areas on biophysical bases struggles to be effective for action, in particular for the agricultural question and the development of organic farming. In taking account of organisational levels and spatial patterns, the article illustrates the discrepancy between WCA and action territories of farmers, collectors and local authorities. These results call for better integration of the concept of territory project in WCA projects, allowing interests to be combined and reflection to be directed towards local governance in the field of water quality

Homogeneous acylation of Cellulose diacetate: Towards bioplastics with tuneable thermal and water transport properties

In this study, we report a simple, non-degrading and efficient homogeneous acylation of cellulose diacetate (CDA) by using a large panel of commercially available acylating aliphatic moieties, differing in their structure (fatty, ramified, bulky, cycloaliphatic, aromatic, more or less spaced from the cellulose backbone), in view of generating a library of well-defined cellulose mixed esters with enhanced thermoplasticity. As reflected by a lowering of the glass temperature (Tg), the covalent grafting confers an improved mobility to the cellulose chains, by disrupting the initial H-bonds. In particular, it appears that the gain in free volume is tailored by the substituent structure and that acylating reagents consisting in a terminal bulky moieties spaced from CDA chains by a linear chain efficiently separate macromolecular chains without generating detrimental stiffening interactions (low Tg around 125 °C). Moreover, free-standing films easily prepared by solvent casting exhibit relevant water transport properties, which are closely dictated and tuned by the water solubility of the cellulose mixed ester

Psychological Safety Climate as a Human Resource Development Target: Effects on Workers Functioning Through Need Satisfaction and Thwarting

International audienc

Incidental findings suggestive of COVID-19 in asymptomatic cancer patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET/CT in a low prevalence region

International audiencePurpose To assess the rate and pattern of incidental interstitial lung abnormalities suggestive of COVID-19 on 18F-FDG PET/ CT in asymptomatic cancer patients during the period of active COVID-19 circulation between March and April 2020 in a geographic area of low prevalence of the virus. routine oncological indication were retrospectively analyzed. No patients had symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 at the time of the 18F-FDG PET/CT. Incidental interstitial pneumonias suggestive of COVID-19 were identified, and the 18F-FDG PET/CT patterns were described. We compared the incidence of these lesions in the pre-COVID and pandemic phases. Results We observed a 1.6% increase in interstitial lung abnormalities during the period of COVID-19 circulation. All had < 50% lung involvement. We describe a case series with typical and atypical interstitial pneumonias suggestive of COVID-19 as unilateral or bilateral with ground-glass opacity, consolidation, or crazy-paving patterns. Conclusion The relatively low increase in incidental findings suggestive of COVID-19 infection on 18F-FDG PET/CT in asymptomatic cancer patients was in accordance with the low COVID-19 transmission in our geographic region. Nevertheless, nuclear medicine physicians should familiarize themselves with typical and atypical 18F-FDG PET/CT patterns suggestive of COVID-19 pneumonia and initiate appropriate intervention where necessary

Les interactions Élevage et Territoire dans la mise en mouvement de l'intensification écologique

Le projet Mouve a pour objectif de produire des connaissances sur les formes et les conditions d’une intensification écologique (IE) de l’élevage d’herbivores dans des territoires relevant de régions dans lesquelles le message d’intensification technique des Trente Glorieuses n’avait eu qu’un impact limité. Il considère l’élevage et le territoire comme des entités en interaction i) en faisant l’hypothèse que la dimension « territoriale » implique de considérer une diversité de points de vue d’acteurs hétérogènes concernés localement par l’élevage, lesquels formulent des attentes portant sur des dimensions variées de l’activité d’élevage, des ressources qu’il mobilise, des produits et circuits commerciaux qu’elle fournit, des services écosystémiques cibles ; ii) en tenant compte des dynamiques des politiques publiques (avec plus de considération pour le marché et pour l’environnement) et les changements dans l’ancrage territorial des filières. Cette recherche combine ainsi une approche du territoire à la fois espace et ensemble d’acteurs « en attente vis-à-vis de l’élevage » avec qui se discutent des scénarios d’avenir ; des dimensions environnementales des actions collectives portant sur les produits animaux ; des dynamiques des systèmes famille – exploitation ; des tensions portant sur métier d’éleveur, leur rapport à la nature et au pâturage ; des dynamiques des filières et des politiques publiques ; et une exploration des services écosystémiques liés aux ressources prairiales. L’approche est interdisciplinaire (sc. agronomiques, écologie, sc. sociales) et comparative : huit territoires relevant de régions dans lesquelles le message d’intensification technique des Trente Glorieuses n’avait eu qu’un impact limité, constituent la base de comparaison : France (4 milieux montagnards), Uruguay (Pampa), Brésil (Amazonie), Sénégal (Ferlo) et Maroc (Arganeraie). Les attentes des acteurs vis-à-vis de l’élevage questionnent tour à tour : i) les modèles de production (le modèle dominant ou des modèles alternatifs), ii) les agencements spatiaux à l’échelle de territoires et la préservation des écosystèmes, iii) la pérennité des exploitations. Les formes d’IE de l’élevage sont variées selon quelles focalisent sur l’une ou l’autre des attentes des acteurs et selon la place et les formes d’expression que prennent les actions collectives et les filières dans les processus de reterritorialisation des systèmes alimentaires. Il n’y a plus dans les territoires étudiés, un seul lieu de gouvernance qui détiendrait la capacité à penser globalement la gestion de l’espace pour améliorer les relations production/environnement ou mobiliserait la notion d’IE très peu usitée. Les controverses entre acteurs sont fréquentes : l’élevage qui convient fait débat. Les questions environnementales mais aussi les pressions à la productivité sont des épreuves identitaires pour les éleveurs dans ces milieux largement pastoraux. Référence du formulaire : ANR-FORM-090601-01-01 6/43 L’intensification n’est pas absente : elle est même un processus présent dans nos terrains, longtemps restés en marge des orientations de développement classiques. Le concept d’IE questionne alors les moyens de cette intensification notamment le rapport aux ressources naturelles. Il contribue ainsi à réinterroger les modèles de production dominants et à réinvestir le champ technique par la recherche. Mais il s’efface derrière d’autres objets (agroécosystème, interface avec la forêt, modèle de niche, exploitation familiale) et d’autres concepts (durabilité) à l’échelle territoriale, là où une diversité d’acteurs s’exprime et où la coexistence de filières remodèle sans cesse le rapport au global et au local. Le projet Mouve constitue une étape dans la consolidation d’une communauté de recherche sur les interactions élevage– territoire