The long-term causal effects of winning an ERC grant

El objetivo de este documento es investigar los efectos causales a largo plazo de la concesión de una beca del Consejo Europeo de Investigación (ERC, por sus siglas en inglés) en la productividad de los investigadores, en la excelencia de su trabajo y en su capacidad para obtener nuevas becas hasta nueve años después de la concesión de la beca. Nuestro análisis se basa en datos sobre el universo de solicitantes de becas del ERC entre 2007 y 2023, así como en información acerca de su historial completo de publicaciones disponible en la base de datos Scopus. Para identificar el efecto causal, primero utilizamos la regla de asignación de becas basada en la clasificación de los solicitantes, y comparamos las variables de resultados de los solicitantes que obtienen una beca con los de los solicitantes que no la obtienen utilizando un diseño de regresión en discontinuidad (RDD, por sus siglas en inglés). En el marco de esta metodología, el análisis encuentra efectos estadísticamente significativos en la productividad de los investigadores y en la calidad de la investigación, lo que sugiere que la obtención de una beca del ERC no constituye una diferencia en términos de impacto científico para los investigadores en una posición cercana al umbral en la clasificación. Dado que los diseños RDD contribuyen a identificar un efecto local, también realizamos un análisis de diferencias en diferencias (DID, por sus siglas en inglés) utilizando la serie temporal de los indicadores bibliométricos disponibles, lo que nos permite estimar el efecto en una población más amplia de solicitantes que obtienen la beca y de solicitantes a los que se les deniega. En contraposición a los resultados obtenidos del RDD, las estimaciones del DID muestran que la obtención de una beca del ERC genera efectos positivos a largo plazo en la productividad científica, en el impacto y en la capacidad de atraer otras fuentes de financiación de la Unión Europea en las áreas de química, ciencias del universo y de la tierra, instituciones y comportamientos, estudios de la mente humana y medicina. Un análisis adicional de los efectos heterogéneos nos lleva a concluir que los resultados positivos del DID parecen estar determinados por los solicitantes que ocupan las primeras posiciones en la clasificación en estas áreas.This paper investigates the long-term causal effects of receiving an ERC grant on researcher productivity, excellence and the ability to obtain additional research funding up to nine years after grant assignment. We use data on the universe of ERC applicants between 2007 and 2013 and information on their complete publication histories from the Scopus database. For identification, we first exploit the assignment rule based on rankings, comparing the outcomes of the winning and non-winning applicants in a regression discontinuity design (RDD). We fail to find any statistically significant effect on research productivity and quality, which suggests that receiving an ERC grant does not make a difference in terms of scientific impact for researchers with a ranking position close to the threshold. Since RDDs help identify a local effect, we also conduct a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis using the time series of bibliometric indicators available, which allows us to estimate the effect on a wider population of winning and non-winning applicants. By contrast with the RDD results, DID estimates show that obtaining an ERC grant leads to positive long-term effects on scientific productivity, impact and the capacity to attract other EU funds in the fields of Chemistry, Universe and Earth Sciences, Institutions and Behaviours, Human Mind Studies and Medicine. Further analysis of heterogeneous effects leads us conclude that the positive results obtained with DID seem to be driven by the top-ranked applicants in these fields

Molecular typing of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius canine strains by three commonly used techniques

Staphylococcus pseudintermedius is a newly described species of Staphylococcus regarded as the main causative agent of canine pyoderma [1]. S. pseudintermedius infection was recently described in humans. An important feature of this pathogen is the high genetic identity with two other species of staphylococci, namely S. intermedius and S. delphini, which are included all together in the Staphylococcus Intermedius Group (SIG) [2]. This scenario seriously hampers phenotypic differentiation of these three pathogens. Despite this, only in 2008 was described the first molecular protocol for diagnostic identification of   S. pseudintermedius [3]. The aim of this work was to investigate the presence of different biotypes of S. pseudintermedius obtained from clinically relevant cases of pyoderma in dogs using three molecular methods commonly used to type bacteria: the Ribosomal Spacers Amplification (RSA), the Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP). A total of 46 different strains were included in this work. The application of the RSA technique, which was applied here for the first time, identified the presence of S. pseudintermedius, although it did not allow any differentiation between biotypes. The RAPD assay showed a single cluster that assembles all the interested strains that are grouped in three different sub-clusters (Fig. 1). The RFLP technique showed the most discriminative power, providing the opportunity to clearly identify this bacterium. In conclusion, the use of these three different techniques allows to clearly identify S. pseudintermedius and to observe the presence of different biotypes. In future it could be interesting to couple these results with the determination of the antibiotic resistance in order to verify if certain Multi Drug Resistant strains have particular RSA and RAPD profiles

Genomic analysis of the TRIM family reveals two groups of genes with distinct evolutionary properties

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The TRIM family is composed of multi-domain proteins that display the Tripartite Motif (RING, B-box and Coiled-coil) that can be associated with a C-terminal domain. TRIM genes are involved in ubiquitylation and are implicated in a variety of human pathologies, from Mendelian inherited disorders to cancer, and are also involved in cellular response to viral infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we defined the entire human TRIM family and also identified the TRIM sets of other vertebrate (mouse, rat, dog, cow, chicken, tetraodon, and zebrafish) and invertebrate species (fruitfly, worm, and ciona). By means of comparative analyses we found that, after assembly of the tripartite motif in an early metazoan ancestor, few types of C-terminal domains have been associated with this module during evolution and that an important increase in TRIM number occurred in vertebrate species concomitantly with the addition of the SPRY domain. We showed that the human TRIM family is split into two groups that differ in domain structure, genomic organization and evolutionary properties. Group 1 members present a variety of C-terminal domains, are highly conserved among vertebrate species, and are represented in invertebrates. Conversely, group 2 is absent in invertebrates, is characterized by the presence of a C-terminal SPRY domain and presents unique sets of genes in each mammal examined. The generation of independent sets of group 2 genes is also evident in the other vertebrate species. Comparing the murine and human TRIM sets, we found that group 1 and 2 genes evolve at different speeds and are subject to different selective pressures.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We found that the TRIM family is composed of two groups of genes with distinct evolutionary properties. Group 2 is younger, highly dynamic, and might act as a <it>reservoir </it>to develop novel TRIM functions. Since some group 2 genes are implicated in innate immune response, their evolutionary features may account for species-specific battles against viral infection.</p

Ultrasound Challenge: Secondary Breast Angiosarcoma Mimicking Lipoma

n/

Nitrogen status assessment for variable rate fertilization in maize through hyperspectral imagery

JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Nitrogen status assessment for variable rate fertilization in maize through hyperspectral imagery

This paper presents a method for mapping the nitrogen (N) status in a maize field using hyperspectral remote sensing imagery. An airborne survey was conducted with an AISA Eagle hyperspectral sensor over an experimental farm where maize (Zea mays L.) was grown with two N fertilization levels (0 and 100 kg N ha-1) in four replicates. Leaf and canopy field data were collected during the flight. The nitrogen (N) status has been estimated in this work based on the Nitrogen Nutrition Index (NNI) defined as the ratio between the leaf actual N concentration (%Na) of the crop and the minimum N content required for the maximum biomass production (critical N concentration (%Nc)) calculated through the dry mass at the time of the flight (Wflight). The inputs required to calculate the NNI (i.e. %Na and Wflight) have been estimated through regression analyses between field data and remotely sensed vegetation indices. MCARI/MTVI2 (Modified Chlorophyll Absorption Ratio Index / Modified Triangular Vegetation Index 2) showed the best performances in estimating the %Na (R2 = 0.59) and MTVI2 in estimating the Wflight (R2 = 0.80). The %Na and the Wflight were then mapped and used to compute the NNI map over the entire field. The NNI map agreed with the NNI estimated using field data through traditional destructive measurements (R2 = 0.70) confirming the potential of using remotely sensed indices to assess the crop N condition. Finally, a method to derive a pixel based variable rate N fertilization map was proposed as the difference between the actual N content and the optimal N content. We think that the proposed operational methodology is promising for precision farming since it represents an innovative attempt to derive from an aerial hyperspectral image a variable rate N fertilization map based on the actual crop N status.JRC.H.4-Monitoring Agricultural Resource

Seasonal forecasts of the rainy season onset over Africa: Preliminary results from the FOCUS-Africa project

Precipitation seasonality is the main factor controlling vegetation phenology in many tropical and subtropical regions. Anticipating the rain onset is of paramount importance for field preparation and seeding. This is of particular importance in various African countries that rely on agriculture as a main source of food, subsistence and income. In such countries, skilful and accurate onset forecasts could also inform early warning and early actions, such as aids logistics planning, for food security. Here, we assess the skill of the seasonal forecast data provided by the Copernicus Climate Change Service in predicting the rain onset over Africa. The skill, i.e. the accuracy of the seasonal forecasts simulation ensemble compared to the climatology, is computed in a probabilistic fashion by accounting for the frequencies of normal, early and late onsets predicted by the forecast system. We compute the skill using the hindcasts (forecast simulations conducted for the past) starting at the beginning of each month in the period 1993–2016. We detect the onset timing of the rainy season using a non-parametric method that accounts for double seasonality and is suitable for the specific time-window of the seasonal forecast simulations. We find positive skills in some key African agricultural regions some months in advance. Overall, the multi-model ensemble outperforms any individual model ensemble. We provide targeted recommendations to develop a useful climate service for the agricultural sector in Africa

Plasminogen activator-coated nanobubbles targeting cell-bound β2-glycoprotein I as a novel thrombus-specific thrombolytic strategy

Beta2-glycoprotein I (β2-GPI) is a serum protein widely recognized as the main target of antibodies present in patients with anti-phospholipid syndrome (APS). β2-GPI binds to activated endothelial cells, platelets and leukocytes, key players in thrombus formation. We developed a new targeted thrombolytic agent consisting of nanobubbles (NBs) coated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and recombinant antibody specific for cell-bound β2-GPI. The therapeutic efficacy of targeted nanobubbles was evaluated in vitro, using platelet-rich blood clots, and in vivo in three different animal models: 1) thrombosis developed in a rat model of APS; 2) ferric chloride-induced mesenteric thrombosis in rats, and 3) thrombotic microangiopathy in a mouse model of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (C3-gain-of-function mice). Targeted nanobubbles bound preferentially to platelets and leukocytes within thrombi and to endothelial cells through β2-GPI expressed on activated cells. In vitro, rtPA-targeted NBs (rtPA-tNBs) induced greater lysis of platelet-rich blood clots than untargeted NBs. In a rat model of APS, administration of rtPA-tNBs caused rapid dissolution of thrombi and, unlike soluble rtPA that induced transient thrombolysis, prevented new thrombus formation. In a rat model of ferric chloride triggered thrombosis, rtPA-tNBs, but not untargeted NBs and free rtPA, induced rapid and persistent recanalization of occluded vessels. Finally, treatment of C3-gain-of-function mice with rtPA-tNBs, that target β2-GPI deposited in kidney glomeruli, decreased fibrin deposition, and improved urinalysis data with a greater efficiency than untargeted NBs. Our findings suggest that targeting cell-bound β2-GPI may represent an efficient and thrombus-specific thrombolytic strategy in both APS-related and APSunrelated thrombotic conditions