LIG-AIKUMA: a Mobile App to Collect Parallel Speech for Under-Resourced Language Studies

International audienceThis paper reports on our ongoing efforts to collect speech data in under-resourced or endangered languages of Africa. Data collection is carried out using an improved version of the An-droid application (AIKUMA) developed by Steven Bird and colleagues [1]. Features were added to the app in order to facilitate the collection of parallel speech data in line with the requirements of the French-German ANR/DFG BULB (Breaking the Unwritten Language Barrier) project. The resulting app, called LIG-AIKUMA, runs on various mobile phones and tablets and proposes a range of different speech collection modes (recording , respeaking, translation and elicitation). It was used for field data collections in Congo-Brazzaville resulting in a total of over 80 hours of speech

Sistema de gestión ambiental según la norma ISO 14001:2015 para medir aspectos ambientales significativos, en la empresa Ecoinco Peru SAC lima - Perú

El presente trabajo de investigación se llevara a cabo en la empresa ECOINCO PERÚ SAC ubicado en el Distrito de Callao – Lima – Perú, con domicilio legal en la dirección CAL.C MZA.G43 – LOTE 38 A.H. bocanegra zona 5 con las siguientes coordenadas UTM 268630.65 m E y 866689.80 m S, siendo objetivo general Conocer cuál es el impacto de un sistema de gestión ambiental según la norma ISO 14001:2015 para medir aspectos ambientales significativos. (i) Determinar el nivel de influencia del liderazgo ambiental sobre el consumo de papel. (ii) Conocer la influencia de la planificación en la generación de aceite usado (iii) Determinar la influencia de apoyo según la norma ISO 14001 sobre el aspecto ambiental, generación de residuos sólidos. En los resultados se percibe que el personal de todas las áreas tanto como gerencia, personal técnico y operativo carece de conocimientos en temas de gestión ambiental. Se concluye que la presente investigación tiene por objetivo general determinar el nivel de influencia del sistema de gestión ambiental aplicada sobre las actividades que realiza la empresa con la finalidad de prevenir o reducir la contaminación ya que su objetivo principal dentro de la organización es actuar como una herramienta preventiva. PALABRAS CLAVES: . Gestión, ISO 14001, sistema, impacto, ambient

Fatal Vibrio vulnificus Infection Associated with Eating Raw Oysters, New Caledonia

International audienceTo the Editor: The bacterium Vi-brio vulnifi cus is a marine fl ora sap-rophyte that can cause necrotic skin infection and septicemia in humans who eat shellfi sh. Symptoms of sep-ticemia (mortality rate >50%) have been described mostly in Florida and Japan among persons who ate raw fi lter-feeding shellfi sh when seawater temperatures are >20°C (1). V. vulnifi cus–related septicemia introduced through the digestive system appears within 7 days after inges-tion (2). Clinical signs and symptoms include fever, collapse, and metastatic necrotic skin lesions. We report 3 patients from New Caledonia who died after V. vulnifi cus infection, which they probably acquired by eating contaminated oysters. These patients were hospitalized during February–May 2008 at Noumea Hospital (Noumea, New Caledonia). Patient 1 was a 51-year-old man with fever, muscle pains, bleeding gums, and a history of alcohol abuse; within 48 hours after symptom onset, he died of septic shock, with diffuse ecchymoses and purpura. Patient 2 was a 67-year-old woman with no known concurrent conditions who was admitted to the hospital with chills, diarrhea, and vomiting; septic shock developed, with painful erythematous plaques on the lower limbs becoming foamy, confl uent, and necrotic. Patient 3 was a 74-year-old woman with untreated lupus who was hospitalized with lower-limb edema, hypotension, hypothermia, and erythematous skin lesions. All 3 patients received cepha-losporins but died of multiple organ failure within 12 hours after hospital admission. Peripheral blood aerobic–anaer-obic samples were taken from all patients , stored in BacT/Alert FA vials (bioMérieux, Marcy-l'Etoile, France), and incubated in the BacT/Alert 3D system (bioMérieux). Curved mobile gram-negative bacilli were isolated from blood samples cultured on conventional media without additional salt within 24 h after incubation at 37°C in a 5% CO 2-enriched atmosphere. V. vulnifi cus was identifi ed through the Vitek2 system (bioMérieux) and con-fi rmed by using the Api 20E system (bioMérieux). Strains were sent to the Centre National de Reference des Vibrions et du Choléra, (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France), which by PCR confi rmed the gene encoding virulence-associated hemolysin, a species-specifi c marker (3). Molecular typing by pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis was performed to assess possible clonality of the strains. Several studies have shown the genomic diversity among environmental and clinical V. vulnifi cus isolates. The use of genotyping methods has identifi ed >100 V. vulnifi cus strains in a single oyster (4) and notable hetero-geneity among clinical isolates from multiple patients, even if a unique pathogenic strain causes the infection in each patient. Thus, V. vulnifi cus infections within a large population at risk may result from rare events controlled more by the host than by the bacterial strain (5). Pulsed-fi eld gel electrophoresis genotype analysis enabled us to divide the strains into 2 groups. One group included the isolate from patient 1, and the other group included isolates from patients 2 and 3, which despite having slightly different NotI and Sfi I patterns refl ecting genetic rearrangement , clearly belonged to a single clone. Isolation of strains with such a high degree of homogeneity is not common, raising the question of the existence of V. vulnifi cus clones that are particularly virulent or adapted to humans. Currently, however, reliable markers for determining V. vulnifi cus virulence do not exist. Thus, no geno-typing system is likely to be useful for rapidly identifying strains that affect public health (6). V. vulnifi cus–related analysis requires the assumption that all strains are virulent. Epidemiologic information collected from patients' families indicated recent consumption of raw oysters. Two of the 3 cases occurred within a short time frame and were associated with eating local oysters harvested on the west coast of New Caledonia. The literature mentions few cases of V. vulnifi cus infection in the South Pacifi c. Cases described were isolated, rarely fatal, and involved infection through the skin (7–10). The V. vulnifi-cus infections we report may be related to the emergence of a new clone or to changes in the climate or environmental conditions. New Caledonia experienced unusual weather conditions during the fi rst half of 2008 (heavy rains and exceptionally high temperatures). These specifi c conditions may have favored higher sea surface temperatures, lower salinity, increased turbidity, and subsequent multiplication of V. vulnifi-cus in seawater. A range of projects were implemented to train practitioners to recognize potential V. vulnifi cus infections. Local health authorities issued criteria for defi ning suspected cases of V. vulnifi cus infection and recommendations for early medical care of patients with clinical symptoms. Methods of detecting the bacterium in human and animal health laboratories were improved , particularly by the systematic use of selective media in the event of suspected clinical V. vulnifi cus infection and standardized reporting of V. vulnifi cus isolation. Preventive measures , such as improving microbial surveillance and warning consumers about risks associated with eating raw seafood, are essential to help reduce the risk for V. vulnifi cus–induced illness. 136 Emerging Infectious Diseases • www.cdc.gov/eid • Vol. 17, No. 1, January 2011 LETTERS Acknowledgments We thank Jacob Kool, Martha Iwa-moto, Rajal Mody, and Dominique Hervio-Heath for help in investigating these cases and for formulating recommendations

Consequences of information suppression in ecological and conservation sciences

Suppressing expert knowledge can hide environmentally damaging practices and policies from public scrutiny. We surveyed ecologists and conservation scientists from universities, government, and industry across Australia to understand the prevalence and consequences of suppressing science communication. Government (34%) and industry (30%) respondents reported higher rates of undue interference by employers than did university respondents (5%). Internal communications (29%) and media (28%) were curtailed most, followed by journal articles (11%), and presentations (12%). When university and industry researchers avoided public commentary, this was mainly for fear of media misrepresentation, while government employees were most often constrained by senior management and workplace policy. One third of respondents reported personal suffering related to suppression, including job losses and deteriorating mental health. Substantial reforms are needed, including to codes of practice, and governance of environmental assessments and research, so that scientific advice can be reported openly, in a timely manner and free from interference

Real-Time Assessment of Health-Care Requirements During the Zika Virus Epidemic in Martinique.

The spread of Zika virus in the Americas has been associated with a surge in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) cases. Given the severity of GBS, territories affected by Zika virus need to plan health-care resources to manage GBS patients. To inform such planning in Martinique, we analyzed Zika virus surveillance and GBS data from Martinique in real time with a modeling framework that captured dynamics of the Zika virus epidemic, the risk of GBS in Zika virus-infected persons, and the clinical management of GBS cases. We compared our estimates with those from the 2013-2014 Zika virus epidemic in French Polynesia. We were able to predict just a few weeks into the epidemic that, due to lower transmission potential and lower probability of developing GBS following infection in Martinique, the total number of GBS cases in Martinique would be substantially lower than suggested by simple extrapolations from French Polynesia. We correctly predicted that 8 intensive-care beds and 7 ventilators would be sufficient to treat GBS cases. This study showcased the contribution of modeling to inform local health-care planning during an outbreak. Timely studies that estimate the proportion of infected persons that seek care are needed to improve the predictive power of such approaches

A solitary bronchial papilloma with unusual endoscopic presentation: case study and literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Solitary endobronchial papillomas (SEP) are rare tumors and most of them are described by case report. A misdiagnosis is common with viral related papillomas. A histopathological classification has recently permitted a major advancement in the understanding of the disease.</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>We report a case of a mixed bronchial papilloma with an unusual endoscopic presentation. The literature was extensively reviewed to ascertain the unusual characteristics of the current case. A 39-year of age male was referred to our institution for the investigation of a slight hemoptysis. Routine examination was normal. A fibroscopy revealed an unusual feature of the right main bronchus. The lesion was a plane, non-bleeding, non-glistering sub-mucosal proliferation. No enhanced coloration was noticed. Biopsies revealed a mixed solitary bronchial papilloma. In situ HPV hybridization was negative. Endoscopic treatment (electrocautery) was effective with no relapse.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This lesion contrasts with the data of the literature where papilloma were described as wart-like lesions or cauliflower tumors, with symptoms generally related to bronchial obstruction. We advise chest physicians to be cautious with unusually small swollen lesions of the bronchi that may reveal a solitary bronchial papilloma. Endoscopic imaging can significantly contribute to the difficult diagnosis of SEP by pulmonary physicians and endoscopists.</p

Human ClCa1 modulates anionic conduction of calcium-dependent chloride currents

Proteins of the CLCA gene family including the human ClCa1 (hClCa1) have been suggested to constitute a new family of chloride channels mediating Ca2+-dependent Cl− currents. The present study examines the relationship between the hClCa1 protein and Ca2+-dependent Cl− currents using heterologous expression of hClCa1 in HEK293 and NCIH522 cell lines and whole cell recordings. By contrast to previous reports claiming the absence of Cl− currents in HEK293 cells, we find that HEK293 and NCIH522 cell lines express constitutive Ca2+-dependent Cl− currents and show that hClCa1 increases the amplitude of Ca2+-dependent Cl− currents in those cells. We further show that hClCa1 does not modify the permeability sequence but increases the Cl− conductance while decreasing the GSCN−/GCl− conductance ratio from ∼2–3 to ∼1. We use an Eyring rate theory (two barriers, one site channel) model and show that the effect of hClCa1 on the anionic channel can be simulated by its action on lowering the first and the second energy barriers. We conclude that hClCa1 does not form Ca2+-dependent Cl− channels per se or enhance the trafficking/insertion of constitutive channels in the HEK293 and NCIH522 expression systems. Rather, hClCa1 elevates the single channel conductance of endogenous Ca2+-dependent Cl− channels by lowering the energy barriers for ion translocation through the pore

Resurgence of Ebola virus in 2021 in Guinea suggests a new paradigm for outbreaks

These authors contributed equally: Alpha K. Keita, Fara R. Koundouno, Martin Faye, Ariane Düx, Julia Hinzmann.International audienc

A Solve-RD ClinVar-based reanalysis of 1522 index cases from ERN-ITHACA reveals common pitfalls and misinterpretations in exome sequencing

Purpose Within the Solve-RD project (https://solve-rd.eu/), the European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies aimed to investigate whether a reanalysis of exomes from unsolved cases based on ClinVar annotations could establish additional diagnoses. We present the results of the “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” reanalysis, reasons for the failure of previous analyses, and lessons learned. Methods Data from the first 3576 exomes (1522 probands and 2054 relatives) collected from European Reference Network for Intellectual disability, TeleHealth, Autism and Congenital Anomalies was reanalyzed by the Solve-RD consortium by evaluating for the presence of single-nucleotide variant, and small insertions and deletions already reported as (likely) pathogenic in ClinVar. Variants were filtered according to frequency, genotype, and mode of inheritance and reinterpreted. Results We identified causal variants in 59 cases (3.9%), 50 of them also raised by other approaches and 9 leading to new diagnoses, highlighting interpretation challenges: variants in genes not known to be involved in human disease at the time of the first analysis, misleading genotypes, or variants undetected by local pipelines (variants in off-target regions, low quality filters, low allelic balance, or high frequency). Conclusion The “ClinVar low-hanging fruit” analysis represents an effective, fast, and easy approach to recover causal variants from exome sequencing data, herewith contributing to the reduction of the diagnostic deadlock