Analysis of the benthic Cumacea and Gammaridean Amphipoda from the western Beaufort Sea

A multidisciplinary western Beaufort Sea Ecological Cruise (WEBSEC) was conducted from August 15 to September 20, 1971. During the cruise, one hundred ninety-nine 0.1 m² Smith-McIntyre grabs samples were taken at forty stations located on the continental shelf and slope of the western Beaufort Sea. The Gammaridean Amphipoda and Cumacea collected were sorted and identified. Each sample was analyzed for the number of species and specimens within those groups. The data for all samples at each station were pooled to obtain station data; these were analyzed for abundance, diversity at each station, and similarity between stations. Environmental parameters including sediment data, temperature, salinity and organic carbon content measured during the same cruise were also analyzed for each station. The diversity indices chosen were the Simpson index (SDI) and the Shannon-Wiener index (H'[subscript e]). The results obtained show a e relatively high diversity and animal density in the outer continental shelf, but low diversity values on the inner continental shelf and slope. The lowest SDI value obtained is 0.43 at 2572 m depth. The SDI values on the outer continental shelf are higher than 0.9 and compare well with values obtained in more temperate regions. The similarity between stations is low, and the percentage of rare species found is high. This indicates a patchy distribution of the Amphipoda and Cumacea fauna. The variability of the processes affecting the benthic environment of the western Beaufort Sea suggest that more intensive and seasonal studies are necessary in order to understand the seasonal as well as the annual variation of the infauna of the western Beaufort Sea

Mechanisms underlying different onset patterns of focal seizures

Focal seizures are episodes of pathological brain activity that appear to arise from a localised area of the brain. The onset patterns of focal seizure activity have been studied intensively, and they have largely been distinguished into two types - low amplitude fast oscillations (LAF), or high amplitude spikes (HAS). Here we explore whether these two patterns arise from fundamentally different mechanisms. Here, we use a previously established computational model of neocortical tissue, and validate it as an adequate model using clinical recordings of focal seizures. We then reproduce the two onset patterns in their most defining properties and investigate the possible mechanisms underlying the different focal seizure onset patterns in the model. We show that the two patterns are associated with different mechanisms at the spatial scale of a single ECoG electrode. The LAF onset is initiated by independent patches of localised activity, which slowly invade the surrounding tissue and coalesce over time. In contrast, the HAS onset is a global, systemic transition to a coexisting seizure state triggered by a local event. We find that such a global transition is enabled by an increase in the excitability of the "healthy" surrounding tissue, which by itself does not generate seizures, but can support seizure activity when incited. In our simulations, the difference in surrounding tissue excitability also offers a simple explanation of the clinically reported difference in surgical outcomes. Finally, we demonstrate in the model how changes in tissue excitability could be elucidated, in principle, using active stimulation. Taken together, our modelling results suggest that the excitability of the tissue surrounding the seizure core may play a determining role in the seizure onset pattern, as well as in the surgical outcome

Deep Neural Architectures for Mapping Scalp to Intracranial EEG

Data is often plagued by noise which encumbers machine learning of clinically useful biomarkers and EEG data is no exemption. Intracranial EEG data enhances the training of deep learning models of the human brain, yet is often prohibitive due to the invasive recording process. A more convenient alternative is to record brain activity using scalp electrodes. However, the inherent noise associated with scalp EEG data often impedes the learning process of neural models, achieving substandard performance. Here, an ensemble deep learning architecture for non-linearly mapping scalp to intracranial EEG data is proposed. The proposed architecture exploits the information from a limited number of joint scalp- intracranial recording to establish a novel methodology for detecting the epileptic discharges from the scalp EEG of a general population of subjects. Statistical tests and qualitative analysis have revealed that the generated pseudo-intracranial data are highly correlated with the true intracranial data. This facilitated the detection of IEDs from the scalp recordings where such waveforms are not often visible. As a real world clinical application, these pseudo-intracranial EEG are then used by a convolutional neural network for the automated classification of intracranial epileptic discharges (IEDs) and non-IED of trials in the context of epilepsy analysis. Although the aim of this work was to circumvent the unavailability of intracranial EEG and the limitations of scalp EEG, we have achieved a classification accuracy of 64%; an increase of 6% over the previously proposed linear regression mapping

Proyecto para producción y venta de Arroz de Coliflor

El proyecto de “The Coliflower” ha sido desarrollado pensando en aquellas personas que desean cuidar su salud y realizar un cambio de alimentación significativo. En la actualidad, es evidente que el arroz tradicional ha ganado más protagonismo en la mesa familiar y existen pocos alimentos saludables, de buena calidad y con nutrientes que puedan sustituirlo. Por ello, se ha desarrollado un plan de negocio, el cual les brinda a los consumidores la opción de poder reemplazar el arroz convencional por una opción más completa nutricionalmente, de similar sabor y versatilidad en su preparación. Además, “The Coliflower” ha integrado una estrategia de marketing, el cual busca interconectar a los usuarios con las redes sociales del proyecto, como Facebook e Instagram para poder tener una interacción directa, cercana y brindarles toda la información y actualización de los productos. El proyecto incorporara su propio aplicativo móvil, además de una página web, donde las personas tendrán la opción de registrarse y navegar a través del interfaz. Mediante estas plataformas, las personas van a poder adquirir el arroz de coliflor sin la necesidad de salir de su casa, pagando de manera rápida y segura y descubriendo las variedades de platos que se pueden elaborar a base de este producto.The “The Coliflower” project has been developed thinking of people who want to take care of their health and make a significant change in their lives. Nowadays, it is evident that traditional rice is essential in family lunches and there are not many healthy foods, with nutrients that can replace it. For this reason, a business plan has been developed, which offers consumers the option of being able to replace conventional rice with a more nutritious option, with a similar flavor and versatility in its preparation. In addition, "The Coliflower" has integrated a marketing strategy, which seeks to interconnect users with the project's social networks, such as Facebook and Instagram in order to have a direct and close interaction and provide them with all the information and updates of the products. The project will incorporate its own mobile application, as well as a web page, where people will have the option to register and navigate through the interface. Through these platforms, people will be able to buy cauliflower rice without having to leave their home, paying faster and safer and discovering the varieties of dishes that can be made based on this product.Trabajo de investigació

The histone H3.1 variant regulates TONSOKU-mediated DNA repair during replication

The tail of replication-dependent histone H3.1 varies from that of replication-independent H3.3 at the amino acid located at position 31 in plants and animals, but no function has been assigned to this residue to demonstrate a unique and conserved role for H3.1 during replication. Here, we show that TONSOKU (TSK/TONSL), which rescues broken replication forks, specifically interacts with H3.1 via recognition of alanine 31 by its tetratricopeptide repeat domain. Our results indicate that genomic instability in the absence of ATXR5/ATXR6-catalyzed H3K27me1 in plants depends on H3.1, TSK and DNA polymerase theta (Pol θ). Overall, this work reveals an H3.1-specific function during replication and the common strategy used in multicellular eukaryotes for regulating post-replicative chromatin maturation and TSK, which relies on histone mono-methyltransferases and reading the H3.1 variant

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers:study protocol for the COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErS (HEROES) study

BACKGROUND: Preliminary country-specific reports suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the mental health of the healthcare workforce. In this paper, we summarize the protocol of the COVID-19 HEalth caRe wOrkErS (HEROES) study, an ongoing, global initiative, aimed to describe and track longitudinal trajectories of mental health symptoms and disorders among health care workers at different phases of the pandemic across a wide range of countries in Latin America, Europe, Africa, Middle-East, and Asia. METHODS: Participants from various settings, including primary care clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, and mental health facilities, are being enrolled. In 26 countries, we are using a similar study design with harmonized measures to capture data on COVID-19 related exposures and variables of interest during two years of follow-up. Exposures include potential stressors related to working in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as sociodemographic and clinical factors. Primary outcomes of interest include mental health variables such as psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and posttraumatic stress disorders. Other domains of interest include potentially mediating or moderating influences such as workplace conditions, trust in the government, and the country’s income level. RESULTS: As of August 2021, ~ 34,000 health workers have been recruited. A general characterization of the recruited samples by sociodemographic and workplace variables is presented. Most participating countries have identified several health facilities where they can identify denominators and attain acceptable response rates. Of the 26 countries, 22 are collecting data and 2 plan to start shortly. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the most extensive global studies on the mental health of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, including a variety of countries with diverse economic realities and different levels of severity of pandemic and management. Moreover, unlike most previous studies, we included workers (clinical and non-clinical staff) in a wide range of settings. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00127-021-02211-9

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