The EU Facing The Coronavirus - A Political Urgency To Embody European Solidarity

“The climate that seems to prevail among Heads of State or government and the lack of European solidarity are putting the European Union in mortal danger,” Jacques Delors warned in an exceptional public speech in the middle of Europe’s devastating coronavirus crisis. This lack of solidarity has already left its mark on public opinion, especially in Italy, as divisions unfolded during the March European Council

Deux niveaux et deux outils d'analyse pour une meilleure segmentation de données audio

- Dans cet article, nous abordons le problème de la segmentation de données audio. Nous proposons un processus de segmentation à deux niveaux qui permet de diviser les pistes audio en courtes séquences qui sont étiquetées dans différentes classes. La segmentation est effectuée en calculant différentes caractéristiques pour chaque séquence audio. Ces caractéristiques sont calculées soit sur un segment audio complet, soit sur une trame (ensemble d'échantillons) qui est un sous-ensemble d'un segment audio. L'approche proposée pour la microsegmentation des données audio consiste en une combinaison d'un classifieur K-Means au niveau des segments et d'un système de chaînes de Markov cachées multidimensionnelles utilisant une décomposition du signal en trames. Une première classification est obtenue en utilisant le classifieur K-Means et les caractéristiques relatives aux segments. Le résultat final est alors fourni par l'utilisation des chaînes de Markov cachées multidimensionnelles et les caractéristiques relatives aux trames, en se basant sur les résultats intermédiaires fournis par la première étape. Les chaînes de Markov cachées multidimensionnelles sont une extension des chaînes de Markov cachées classiques qui permet la prise en compte de données multicomposantes. Elles sont particulièrement adaptées dans notre cas où chaque segment audio peut être représenté par plusieurs caractéristiques de différentes natures

Die europäische Solidarität braucht dringend eine politische Dimension

Angesichts der Corona-Pandemie sind die 27 Staats- und Regierungschefs aufgerufen, gemeinsam zu handeln. Der Europäische Rat vom 23. April kann es sich nicht leisten, erneut zu scheitern, indem er innere Spaltungen offenbart, die angesichts der Covid-19-Krise wieder aufgeflammt sind. Die Dramatik der Situation hat auch Jacques Delors aus einer längeren Phase des Schweigens gerissen: „Die Atmosphäre, die unter den Staats- und Regierungschefs zu herrschen scheint, und der Mangel an europäischer Solidarität versetzen die Europäische Union in Lebensgefahr“

Montenegro's EU Push: Imminent Opportunities and Challenges

Under its new government, Montenegro has unblocked its accession process. Although the small country faces many obstacles, it now represents the best opportunity for the EU to regain momentum for enlargement in the Western Balkans. The period until mid-2024 will be pivotal for reform progress in Podgorica and adequate response from Brussels. Their moves will also be closely watched by Russia, which is prepared to exploit new vulnerabilities in this NATO member strategically located between Serbia and the Adriatic Coast

Performance and microbial community composition dynamics of aerobic granular sludge from sequencing batch bubble column reactors operated at 20°C, 30°C, and 35°C

Two bubble column sequencing batch reactors fed with an artificial wastewater were operated at 20°C, 30°C, and 35°C. In a first stage, stable granules were obtained at 20°C, whereas fluffy structures were observed at 30°C. Molecular analysis revealed high abundance of the operational taxonomic unit 208 (OTU 208) affiliating with filamentous bacteria Leptothrix spp. at 30°C, an OTU much less abundant at 20°C. The granular sludge obtained at 20°C was used for the second stage during which one reactor was maintained at 20°C and the second operated at 30°C and 35°C after prior gradual increase of temperature. Aerobic granular sludge with similar physical properties developed in both reactors but it had different nutrient elimination performances and microbial communities. At 20°C, acetate was consumed during anaerobic feeding, and biological phosphorous removal was observed when Rhodocyclaceae-affiliating OTU 214 was present. At 30°C and 35°C, acetate was mainly consumed during aeration and phosphorous removal was insignificant. OTU 214 was almost absent but the Gammaproteobacteria-affiliating OTU 239 was more abundant than at 20°C. Aerobic granular sludge at all temperatures contained abundantly the OTUs 224 and 289 affiliating with Sphingomonadaceae indicating that this bacterial family played an important role in maintaining stable granular structure

Tribbles expression in cumulus cells is related to oocyte maturation and fatty acid metabolism.

International audienceIn mammals, the Tribbles family includes widely expressed serine-threonine kinase-like proteins (TRIB1, TRIB2 and TRIB3) that are involved in multiple biological processes including cell proliferation and fatty acid (FA) metabolism. Our recent studies highlighted the importance of FA metabolism in cumulus cells (CC) during oocyte maturation in vertebrates and reported a higher TRIB1 expression in CC surrounding in vivo mature oocytes as compared to immature ooocytes in mice and cows. The objective was to investigate Tribbles expression patterns in bovine CC during in vitro maturation (IVM) and to examine their roles in the cumulus-oocyte complex

Performance and microbial community composition dynamics of aerobic granular sludge from sequencing batch bubble column reactors operated at 20, 30, and 35°

Two bubble column sequencing batch reactors fed with an artificial wastewater were operated at 20, 30 and 35°C. In a first stage, stable granules were obtained at 20°C whereas fluffy structures were observed at 30°C. Molecular analysis revealed high abundance of the operational taxonomic unit 208 (OTU 208) affiliating with filamentous bacteria Leptothrix spp. at 30°C, an OTU much less adundant at 20°C. The granular sludge obtained at 20°C was used for the second stage during which one reactor was maintained at 20°C and the second operated at 30 and 35°C after prior gradual increase of temperature. Aerobic granular sludge with similar physical properties developed in both reactors but it had different nutrient elimination performances and microbial communities. At 20°C, acetate was consumed during anaerobic feeding and biological phosphorous removal was observed when Rhodocyclaceae-affiliating OTU 214 was present. At 30°C and 35°C, acetate was mainly consumed during aeration and phosphorous removal was insignificant. OTU 214 was almost absent but the Gammaproteobacteria-affiliating OTU 239 was more abundant than at 20°C. Aerobic granular sludge at all temperatures contained abundantly the OTUs 224 and 289 affiliating with Sphingomonadaceae indicating that this bacterial family played an important role in maintaining stable granular structures

Correction: The psychiatric phenotypes of 1q21 distal deletion and duplication.

Copy number variants are amongst the most highly penetrant risk factors for psychopathology and neurodevelopmental deficits, but little information about the detailed clinical phenotype associated with particular variants is available. We present the largest study of the microdeletion and -duplication at the distal 1q21 locus, which has been associated with schizophrenia and intellectual disability, in order to investigate the range of psychiatric phenotypes. Clinical and cognitive data from 68 deletion and 55 duplication carriers were analysed with logistic regression analysis to compare frequencies of mental disorders between carrier groups and controls, and linear mixed models to compare quantitative phenotypes. Both children and adults with copy number variants at 1q21 had high frequencies of psychopathology. In the children, neurodevelopmental disorders were most prominent (56% for deletion, 68% for duplication carriers). Adults had increased prevalence of mood (35% for deletion [OR = 6.6 (95% CI: 1.4–40.1)], 55% for duplication carriers [8.3 (1.4–55.5)]) and anxiety disorders (24% [1.8 (0.4–8.4)] and 55% [10.0 (1.9–71.2)]). The adult group, which included mainly genetically affected parents of probands, had an IQ in the normal range. These results confirm high prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders associated with CNVs at 1q21 but also reveal high prevalence of mood and anxiety disorders in a high-functioning adult group with these CNVs. Because carriers of neurodevelopmental CNVs who show relevant psychopathology but no major cognitive impairment are not currently routinely receiving clinical genetic services widening of genetic testing in psychiatry may be considered

Unrelated stem cell transplantation for severe acquired aplastic anemia: improved outcome in the era of high-resolution HLA matching between donor and recipient

Background and Objectives Severe acquired aplastic anemia (SAA) is a potentially fatal bone marrow failure syndrome occurring mainly in children and young adults. Immunosuppressive regimens and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are the only two available curative treatments. Patients who lack an HLA-identical sibling donor may receive HSCT from an unrelated donor, a strategy historically associated with high mortality rates. Thus, for patients refractory to immunosuppressive regimens, the decision to transplant stem cells from unrelated donors is weighed against supportive care and often represents a dilemma for physicians. We aimed to determine whether outcome after unrelated HSCT has improved in recent years and, if so, to determine the factors responsible for the improvement.Design and Methods We analyzed the outcome of 89 patients (median age 17 years, range 0–52) with acquired SAA undergoing HSCT from an unrelated donor between 1989 and 2004. Cases were consecutively reported to the French Registry (SFGM-TC) by 25 centers.Results Patients transplanted during two successive time-periods (1989–1998 and 1999–2004) had different 5-year survival probabilities (±95% confidence interval): 29±7% and 50±7%, respectively (

Psychiatric disorders in children with 16p11.2 deletion and duplication.

Deletion and duplication of 16p11.2 (BP4-BP5) have been associated with an increased risk of intellectual disability and psychiatric disorder. This is the first study to compare the frequency of a broad spectrum of psychiatric disorders in children with 16p11.2 deletion and duplication. We aimed to evaluate (1) the nature and prevalence of psychopathology associated with copy number variation (CNV) in children with 16p11.2 by comparing deletion and duplication carriers with family controls; (2) whether deletion and duplication carriers differ in frequency of psychopathology. 217 deletion carriers, 77 deletion family controls, 114 duplication carriers, and 32 duplication family controls participated in the study. Measures included standardized research diagnostic instruments. Deletion carriers had a higher frequency of any psychiatric disorder (OR = 8.9, p < 0.001), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (OR = 4.0, p = 0.01), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (OR = 39.9, p = 0.01) than controls. Duplication carriers had a higher frequency of any psychiatric diagnosis (OR = 5.3, p = 0.01) and ADHD (OR = 7.0, p = 0.02) than controls. The prevalence of ASD in child carriers of deletions and duplications was similar (22% versus 26%). Comparison of the two CNV groups indicated a higher frequency of ADHD in children with the duplication than deletion (OR = 2.7, p = 0.04) as well as a higher frequency of overall psychiatric disorders (OR = 2.8, p = 0.02) and psychotic symptoms (OR = 4.7, p = 0.02). However, no differences between deletion and duplications carriers in the prevalence of ASD were found. Both deletion and duplication are associated with an increased risk of psychiatric disorder, supporting the importance of early recognition, diagnosis, and intervention in these groups