Demography, genetic diversity and expansion load in the colonizing species Leontodon longirostris (Asteraceae) throughout its native range

Unravelling the evolutionary processes underlying range expansions is fundamental to understand the distribution of organisms, as well as to predict their future responses to environmental change. Predictions for range expansions include a loss of genetic diversity and an accumulation of deleterious alleles along the expansion axis, which can decrease fitness at the range-front (expansion load). In plants, empirical studies supporting expansion load are scarce, and its effects remain to be tested outside a few model species. Leontodon longirostris is a colonizing Asteraceae with a widespread distribution in the Western Mediterranean, providing a particularly interesting system to gain insight into the factors that can enhance or mitigate expansion load. In this study, we produced a first genome draft for the species, covering 418 Mbp (~53% of the genome). Although incomplete, this draft was suitable to design a targeted sequencing of ~1.5 Mbp in 238 L. longirostris plants from 21 populations distributed along putative colonization routes in the Iberian Peninsula. Inferred demographic history supports a range expansion from southern Iberia around 40,000 years ago, reaching northern Iberia around 25,000 years ago. The expansion was accompanied by a loss of genetic diversity and a significant increase in the proportion of putatively deleterious mutations. However, levels of expansion load in L. longirostris were smaller than those found in other plant species, which can be explained, at least partially, by its high dispersal ability, the self-incompatible mating system, and the fact that the expansion occurred along a strong environmental cline

T cells isolated from G-CSF-treated multiple myeloma patients are suitable for the generation of BCMA-directed CAR-T cells

Autologous cell immunotherapy using B cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells is an effective novel treatment for multiple myeloma (MM). This therapy has only been used for relapsed and refractory patients, at which stage the endogenous T cells used to produce the CAR-T cells are affected by the immunosuppressive nature of advanced MM and/or side effects of previous therapies. An alternative pool of fitter T cells is found in leukocytoapheresis products that are routinely collected to obtain hematopoietic progenitor cells for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) early in the treatment of MM. However, to mobilize the progenitor cells, patients are dosed with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), which is reported to adversely affect T cell proliferation, function, and differentiation. Here, we aimed to first establish whether G-CSF treatment negatively influences T cell phenotype and to ascertain whether previous exposure of T cells to G-CSF is deleterious for anti-BCMA CAR-T cells. We observed that G-CSF had a minimal impact on T cell phenotype when added in vitro or administered to patients. Moreover, we found that CAR-T cell fitness and anti-tumor activity were unaffected when generated from G-CSF-exposed T cells. Overall, we showed that ASCT apheresis products are a suitable source of T cells for anti-BCMA CAR-T cell manufacture

The Westerly Index as complementary indicator of the North Atlantic oscillation in explaining drought variability across Europe

This paper analyses the influence of different atmospheric circulation indices on the multi-scalar drought variability across Europe by using the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). The monthly circulation indices used in this study include the North Atlantic oscillation (NAO), the East Atlantic (EA), the Scandinavian (SCAN) and the East Atlantic-Western Russia (EA-WR) patterns, as well as the recently published Westerly Index (WI), defined as the persistence of westerly winds over the eastern north Atlantic region. The results indicate that European drought variability is better explained by the station-based NAO index and the WI than by any other combination of circulation indices. In northern and central Europe the variability of drought severity for different seasons and time-scales is strongly associated with the WI. On the contrary, the influence of the NAO on southern Europe droughts is stronger than that exerted by the WI. The correlation patterns of the NAO and WI with the SPEI show a spatial complementarity in shaping drought variability across Europe. Lagged correlations of the NAO and WI with the SPEI also indicate enough skill of both indices to anticipate drought severity several months in advance. As long as instrumental series of the NAO and WI are available, their combined use would allow inferring European drought variability for the last two centuries and improve the calibration and interpretation of paleoclimatic proxies associated with drought

Holocene changes in deep-water circulation of the Western Mediterranean Basin, links to North Atlantic climate variability

preliminary results from multicores recovered in the Minorca sediment drift, south of the Western Mediterranean Deep Water formation area, reveal changes in deep-water circulation during the last 2500 yr. Records of grain-size and SST Mg/Ca derived from G. bulloides show oscillations in deep-water current intensities that could be related to cool periods on land, i.e. the Little Ice Age, but also denote some relationship with changes in sea surface salinity likely associated with changes in continental humid conditions

Wave energy farm design in real wave climates: the Italian offshore

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Wave energy farm design in real wave climates: the Italian offshore journaltitle: Energy articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2017.01.094 content_type: article copyright: © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid pattern in active inflammatory bowel disease

Plasma fatty acid patterns were assessed by gas liquid chromatography in 73 patients with active inflammatory bowel disease and 107 healthy controls. The influence of the disease activity on fatty acid profile was also investigated. Plasma fatty acid patterns in patients with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease were similar. Plasma C18:3n3 and C22:6n3 were significantly higher in active ulcerative colitis (p = 0.0143 and p < 0.00001 respectively) and in Crohn's disease (p < 0.00001 for both) than in controls, whereas C20:3n6 was significantly lower in patients than in controls, both in ulcerative colitis (p = 0.0001) and in Crohn's disease (p = 0.0041). In more severe disease, plasma polyunsaturated fatty acid concentrations fell with a significant stepwise decrease in the desaturation index (p = 0.0031 in ulcerative colitis and p = 0.0355 in Crohn's disease). Even in patients with severe disease, however, plasma n3 fatty acids (C18:3n3 and C22:6n3) never fell below those of healthy controls. These findings suggest that in active inflammatory bowel disease, an increased biosynthesis might coexist with an increased consumption of polyunsaturated fatty acids. These observations may be of relevance in the pathogenesis of the disease as polyunsaturated fatty acids are involved in tissue eicosanoid synthesis and cellular membrane function, including that of immunocompetent cells. These results also question the rationale of using n3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Increased Vegetation in Mountainous Headwaters Amplifies Water Stress During Dry Periods

The dynamics of blue and green water partitioning under vegetation and climate change, as well as their different interactions during wet and dry periods, are poorly understood in the literature. We analyzed the impact of vegetation changes on blue water generation in a central Spanish Pyrenees basin undergoing intense afforestation. We found that vegetation change is a key driver of large decreases in blue water availability. The effect of vegetation increase is amplified during dry years, and mainly during the dry season, with streamflow reductions of more than 50%. This pattern can be attributed primarily to increased plant water consumption. Our findings highlight the importance of vegetation changes in reinforcing the decrease in water resource availability. With aridity expected to rise in southern Europe over the next few decades, interactions between climate and land management practices appear to be amplifying future hydrological drought risk in the region.This work was supported by projects CGL2017-82216-R, PCI2019-103631, and PID2019-108589RA-I00 financed by the Spanish Commission of Science and Technology and FEDER; CROSSDRO project financed by AXIS (Assess-ment of Cross(X)-sectoral climate Impacts and pathways for Sustainable transformation), JPI-Climate co-funded call of the European Commission and INDECIS which is part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, and funded by FORMAS (SE), DLR (DE), BMWFW (AT), IFD (DK), MINECO (ES), ANR (FR) with co-funding by the European Union (Grant 690462). Dhais Peña-Angulo received a “Juan de la Cierva” postdoctoral contract (FJCI-2017-33652 Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, MEC). Miquel Tomas-Burguera received a “Juan de la Cierva” postdoctoral contract (FJCI-2019-039261-I Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation). C. Azorin-Molina and S. Grainger. acknowledge funding from the Irish Environmental Protection Agency grant 2019-CCRP-MS.60. C. Juez acknowl-edges funding from the H2020-MSCA-IF-2018 programme (Marie Sklodows-ka-Curie Actions) of the European Union under REA grant agreement, number 834329-SEDILAND

Cortical thinning over two years after first-episode psychosis depends on age of onset

First-episode psychosis (FEP) patients show structural brain abnormalities at the first episode. Whether the cortical changes that follow a FEP are progressive and whether age at onset modulates these changes remains unclear. This is a multicenter MRI study in a deeply phenotyped sample of 74 FEP patients with a wide age range at onset (15-35 years) and 64 neurotypical healthy controls (HC). All participants underwent two MRI scans with a 2-year follow-up interval. We computed the longitudinal percentage of change (PC) for cortical thickness (CT), surface area (CSA) and volume (CV) for frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. We used general linear models to assess group differences in PC as a function of age at FEP. We conducted post-hoc analyses for metrics where PC differed as a function of age at onset. We found a significant age-by-diagnosis interaction effect for PC of temporal lobe CT (d = 0.54; p = 002). In a post-hoc-analysis, adolescent-onset (≤19 y) FEP showed more severe longitudinal cortical thinning in the temporal lobe than adolescent HC. We did not find this difference in adult-onset FEP compared to adult HC. Our study suggests that, in individuals with psychosis, CT changes that follow the FEP are dependent on the age at first episode, with those with an earlier onset showing more pronounced cortical thinning in the temporal lobe

The complex influence of ENSO on droughts in Ecuador

48 Pags.- 1 Tabl.- 18 Figs. The definitive version is available at: http://link.springer.com/journal/382In this study, we analyzed the influence of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the spatio-temporal variability of droughts in Ecuador for a 48-year period (1965–2012). Droughts were quantified from 22 high-quality and homogenized time series of precipitation and air temperature by means of the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index. In addition, the propagation of two different ENSO indices (El Niño 3.4 and El Niño 1 + 2 indices) and other atmospheric circulation processes (e.g., vertical velocity) on different time-scales of drought severity were investigated. The results showed a very complex influence of ENSO on drought behavior across Ecuador, with two regional patterns in the evolution of droughts: (1) the Andean chain with no changes in drought severity, and (2) the Western plains with less severe and frequent droughts. We also detected that drought variability in the Andes mountains is explained by the El Niño 3.4 index [sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the central Pacific], whereas the Western plains are much more driven by El Niño 1 + 2 index (SST anomalies in the eastern Pacific). Moreover, it was also observed that El Niño and La Niña phases enhance droughts in the Andes and Western plains regions, respectively. The results of this work could be crucial for predicting and monitoring drought variability and intensity in Ecuador.This work was supported by the EPhysLab (UVIGO-CSIC Associated Unit) and the research projects I-COOP H2O 2013CD0006: “Test multisectorial y actividades demostrativa sobre el potencial desarrollo de sistemas de monitorización de sequías en tiempo real en la región del oeste de Sudamérica” financed by the Spanish National Research Council, CGL2011-27574-CO2-02, CGL2014-52135-C03-01 and Red de variabilidad y cambio climático RECLIM (CGL2014-517221-REDT), financed by the Spanish Commission of Science and Technology and FEDER, and “LIFE12 ENV/ES/000536-Demonstration and validation of innovative methodology for regional climate change adaptation in the Mediterranean area (LIFE MEDACC)” financed by the LIFE programme of the European Commission. Cesar Azorin-Molina was supported by the JCI-2011-10263 Grant. Arturo Sanchez-Lorenzo was supported by the JCI-2012-12508 Grant. Miquel Tomas-Burguera was supported by a doctoral grant by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and Natalia Martin-Hernandez was supported by a doctoral grant by the Aragón Regional Government. E. Aguilar was funded by the Grant CCI-009-ATN/OC-12439-RG-2012 from the Banco Iberoamericano de Desarrollo.Peer reviewe