Discriminating Environmental Conditions for Significant Warm Sector and Boundary Tornadoes in Parts of the Great Plains

Using system-relative composites, based on a dataset of significant tornadoes and null supercell events, environmental conditions associated with occurrences of significant tornadoes near discernible surface boundaries were compared to nontornadic boundary supercells, and warm sector significant tornadoes to nontornadic warm sector supercells, for a portion of the Great Plains. Results indicated that significant boundary tornadoes were associated with the exit region of a 300-hPa jet maximum, while null boundary events were in closer proximity to the 300-hPa jet entrance region. The differences at 300 hPa led to significant differences at the surface, as the null composite indicated deformation and confluence into the surface boundary and enhanced frontogenesis, while this was not present in the boundary significant tornado composite. Significant synoptic differences also were noted between the warm sector tornadoes and the warm sector null events. The warm sector significant tornadoes were associated with a much stronger, negatively tilted synoptic storm system, with the composite tornado in the 300-hPa jet exit region and downstream of increasing values of absolute vorticity. Additional thermodynamic and kinematic parameters pertaining to low-level moisture and environmental winds appeared to be important in distinguishing boundary and warm sector significant tornadoes from nontornadic supercell events. Statistical comparisons between boundary and warm sector significant tornado events showed significant differences in the climatology of their length, width, and date and time of occurrence

A Systematic Framework to Rapidly Obtain Data on Patients with Cancer and COVID-19: CCC19 Governance, Protocol, and Quality Assurance

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, formal frameworks to collect data about affected patients were lacking. The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) was formed to collect granular data on patients with cancer and COVID-19 at scale and as rapidly as possible. CCC19 has grown from five initial institutions to 125 institutions with >400 collaborators. More than 5,000 cases with complete baseline data have been accrued. Future directions include increased electronic health record integration for direct data ingestion, expansion to additional domestic and international sites, more intentional patient involvement, and granular analyses of still-unanswered questions related to cancer subtypes and treatments. When the COVID-19 pandemic began, formal frameworks to collect data about affected patients were lacking. The COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) was formed to collect granular data on patients with cancer and COVID-19 at scale and as rapidly as possible. CCC19 has grown from five initial institutions to 125 institutions with >400 collaborators. More than 5,000 cases with complete baseline data have been accrued. Future directions include increased electronic health record integration for direct data ingestion, expansion to additional domestic and international sites, more intentional patient involvement, and granular analyses of still-unanswered questions related to cancer subtypes and treatments

Quantifying the Effects of 16p11.2 Copy Number Variants on Brain Structure: A Multisite Genetic-First Study

International audienceBackground: 16p11.2 breakpoint 4 to 5 copy number variants (CNVs) increase the risk for developing autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, and language and cognitive impairment. In this multisite study, we aimed to quantify the effect of 16p11.2 CNVs on brain structure.Methods: Using voxel- and surface-based brain morphometric methods, we analyzed structural magnetic resonance imaging collected at seven sites from 78 individuals with a deletion, 71 individuals with a duplication, and 212 individuals without a CNV.Results: Beyond the 16p11.2-related mirror effect on global brain morphometry, we observe regional mirror differences in the insula (deletion > control > duplication). Other regions are preferentially affected by either the deletion or the duplication: the calcarine cortex and transverse temporal gyrus (deletion > control; Cohen's d > 1), the superior and middle temporal gyri (deletion duplication; -0.5 > Cohen's d > -1). Measures of cognition, language, and social responsiveness and the presence of psychiatric diagnoses do not influence these results.Conclusions: The global and regional effects on brain morphometry due to 16p11.2 CNVs generalize across site, computational method, age, and sex. Effect sizes on neuroimaging and cognitive traits are comparable. Findings partially overlap with results of meta-analyses performed across psychiatric disorders. However, the lack of correlation between morphometric and clinical measures suggests that CNV-associated brain changes contribute to clinical manifestations but require additional factors for the development of the disorder. These findings highlight the power of genetic risk factors as a complement to studying groups defined by behavioral criteria