Hybridization Mechanism for Cohesion of Cd-based Quasicrystals

Cohesion mechanism of cubic approximant crystals of newly discovered binary quasicrystals, Cd$_6$M (M=Yb and Ca), are studied theoretically. It is found that stabilization due to alloying is obtained if M is an element with low-lying unoccupied $d$ states. This leads to conclusion that the cohesion of the Cd-based compounds is due to the hybridization of the $d$ states of Yb and Ca with a wide $sp$ band. %unlike known stable quasicrystals without transition elements %such as Al-Li-Cu and Zn-Mg-RE (RE:rare earth). Although a diameter of the Fermi sphere coincides with the strong Bragg peaks for Cd-Yb and Cd-Ca, the Hume-Rothery mechanism does not play a principal role in the stability because neither distinct pseudogap nor stabilization due to alloying is obtained for isostructural Cd-Mg. In addition to the electronic origin, matching of the atomic size is very crucial for the quasicrystal formation of the Cd-based compounds. It is suggested that the glue atoms, which do not participate in the icosahedral cluster, play an important role in stabilization of the compound.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

MULTIPLE ORGAN HARVESTING: EVOLUTION OF SURGICAL TECHNIQUE. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

SINCE 1950, kidney, liver, heart, and lung transplantations have dramatically improved, emerging as the elective treatment modality for organ failure. Nevertheless, the indications to pancreas and bowel grafting are stili controversial. Several factors have contributed such results, namely the introduction of cyclosporine (CyA) in 1981, the use of new solutions for solid organ preservation (eg, the University of Wisconsin solution), the improvement in donor selection criteria, intensive care, as well as improvement management of transplant operation and harvesting surgical technique

CLEC5A-mediated enhancement of the inflammatory response in myeloid cells contributes to influenza virus pathogenicity in vivo

Human infections with influenza viruses exhibit mild to severe clinical outcomes as a result of complex virus-host interactions. Induction of inflammatory mediators via pattern recognition receptors may dictate subsequent host responses for pathogen clearance and tissue damage. We identified that human C-type lectin domain family 5 member A (CLEC5A) interacts with the hemagglutinin protein of influenza viruses expressed on lentiviral pseudoparticles through lectin screening. Silencing CLEC5A gene expression, blocking influenza-CLEC5A interactions with anti-CLEC5A antibodies, or dampening CLEC5A-mediated signaling using a spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor consistently reduced the levels of proinflammatory cytokines produced by human macrophages without affecting the replication of influenza A viruses of different subtypes. Infection of bone marrow-derived macrophages from CLEC5A-deficient mice showed reduced levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and IP-10 but elevated alpha interferon (IFN-α) compared to those of wild-type mice. The heightened type I IFN response in the macrophages of CLEC5A-deficient mice was associated with upregulated TLR3 mRNA after treatment with double-stranded RNA. Upon lethal challenges with a recombinant H5N1 virus, CLEC5A-deficient mice showed reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines, decreased immune cell infiltration in the lungs, and improved survival compared to the wild-type mice, despite comparable viral loads noted throughout the course of infection. The survival difference was more prominent at a lower dose of inoculum. Our results suggest that CLEC5A-mediated enhancement of the inflammatory response in myeloid cells contributes to influenza pathogenicity in vivo and may be considered a therapeutic target in combination with effective antivirals. Well-orchestrated host responses together with effective viral clearance are critical for optimal clinical outcome after influenza infections.published_or_final_versio

Monitoring environmental catastrophe area through change detection techniques

The use of satellite images has been very effective for monitoring the dynamics of the land use and occupation over time. For this purpose , the change detection techniques have been strong allies. These techniques have multiple complexities depending on the objective to be achieved. This study aims to evaluate the technique for land use and land cover changing detection in areas affected by the environmental disaster of November 2008 in the region of Morro do Baú, Santa Catarina, Brazil. A total of 04 (four) images from different dates between 1992 and 2009 (post-disaster) were used. The images were processed in vegetation index using bands 7 and 4 in order to minimize atmospheric and radiometric distortions. Shadow mask, construted from the digital terrain model, was developed to avoid false changes caused by shade. It was concluded that the georeferencing must be very accurate in applying these techniques. The vegetation index by using bands 7 and 4and the shadow mask, were effective in minimizing false changes. It showed that the techniques applied are effective to detect changes in areas affected by the disaster

Semantic Approach in Image Change Detection

International audienceChange detection is a main issue in various domains, and especially for remote sensing purposes. Indeed, plethora of geospatial images are available and can be used to update geographical databases. In this paper, we propose a classification-based method to detect changes between a database and a more recent image. It is based both on an efficient training point selection and a hierarchical decision process. This allows to take into account the intrinsic heterogeneity of the objects and themes composing a database while limiting false detection rates. The reliability of the designed framework method is first assessed on simulated data, and then successfully applied on very high resolution satellite images and two land-cover databases

Safety of fertility preservation techniques before and after anticancer treatments in young women with breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Study question: Is it safe to perform controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) for fertility preservation before starting anticancer therapies or ART after treatments in young breast cancer patients? Summary answer: Performing COS before, or ART following anticancer treatment in young women with breast cancer does not seem to be associated with detrimental prognostic effect in terms of breast cancer recurrence, mortality or event-free survival (EFS). What is known already: COS for oocyte/embryo cryopreservation before starting chemotherapy is standard of care for young women with breast cancer wishing to preserve fertility. However, some oncologists remain concerned on the safety of COS, particularly in patients with hormone-sensitive tumors, even when associated with aromatase inhibitors. Moreover, limited evidence exists on the safety of ART in breast cancer survivors for achieving pregnancy after the completion of anticancer treatments. Study design, size, duration: The present systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out by three blinded investigators using the keywords 'breast cancer' and 'fertility preservation'; keywords were combined with Boolean operators. Eligible studies were identified by a systematic literature search of Medline, Web of Science, Embase and Cochrane library with no language or date restriction up to 30 June 2021. Participants/materials, setting, methods: To be included in this meta-analysis, eligible studies had to be case-control or cohort studies comparing survival outcomes of women who underwent COS or ART before or after breast cancer treatments compared to breast cancer patients not exposed to these strategies. Survival outcomes of interest were cancer recurrence rate, relapse rate, overall survival and number of deaths. Adjusted relative risk (RR) and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CI were extracted. When the number of events for each group were available but the above measures were not reported, HRs were estimated using the Watkins and Bennett method. We excluded case reports or case series with <10 patients and studies without a control group of breast cancer patients who did not pursue COS or ART. Quality of data and risk of bias were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Assessment Scale. Main results and the role of chance: A total of 1835 records were retrieved. After excluding ineligible publications, 15 studies were finally included in the present meta-analysis (n = 4643). Among them, 11 reported the outcomes of breast cancer patients who underwent COS for fertility preservation before starting chemotherapy, and 4 the safety of ART following anticancer treatment completion. Compared to women who did not receive fertility preservation at diagnosis (n = 2386), those who underwent COS (n = 1594) had reduced risk of recurrence (RR 0.58, 95% CI 0.46-0.73) and mortality (RR 0.54, 95% CI 0.38-0.76). No detrimental effect of COS on EFS was observed (HR 0.76, 95% CI 0.55-1.06). A similar trend of better outcomes in terms of EFS was observed in women with hormone-receptor-positive disease who underwent COS (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.20-0.65). A reduced risk of recurrence was also observed in patients undergoing COS before neoadjuvant chemotherapy (RR 0.22, 95% CI 0.06-0.80). Compared to women not exposed to ART following completion of anticancer treatments (n = 540), those exposed to ART (n = 123) showed a tendency for better outcomes in terms of recurrence ratio (RR 0.34, 95% CI 0.17-0.70) and EFS (HR 0.43, 95% CI 0.17-1.11). Limitations, reasons for caution: This meta-analysis is based on abstracted data and most of the studies included are retrospective cohort studies. Not all studies had matching criteria between the study population and the controls, and these criteria often differed between the studies. Moreover, rate of recurrence is reported as a punctual event and it is not possible to establish when recurrences occurred and whether follow-up, which was shorter than 5 years in some of the included studies, is adequate to capture late recurrences. Wider implications of the findings: Our results demonstrate that performing COS at diagnosis or ART following treatment completion does not seem to be associated with detrimental prognostic effect in young women with breast cancer, including among patients with hormone receptor-positive disease and those receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Study funding/competing interest(s): Partially supported by the Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC; grant number MFAG 2020 ID 24698) and the Italian Ministry of Health-5 7 1000 funds 2017 (no grant number). M.L. acted as consultant for Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, AstraZeneca, MSD, Exact Sciences, Gilead, Seagen and received speaker honoraria from Roche, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Ipsen, Takeda, Libbs, Knight, Sandoz outside the submitted work. F.S. acted as consultant for Novartis, MSD, Sun Pharma, Philogen and Pierre Fabre and received speaker honoraria from Roche, Novartis, BMS, MSD, Merck, Sun Pharma, Sanofi and Pierre Fabre outside the submitted work. I.D. has acted as a consultant for Roche, has received research grants from Roche and Ferring, has received reagents for academic clinical trial from Roche diagnostics, speaker's fees from Novartis, and support for congresses from Theramex and Ferring outside the submitted work. L.D.M. reported honoraria from Roche, Novartis, Eli Lilly, MSD, Pfizer, Ipsen, Novartis and had an advisory role for Roche, Eli Lilly, Novartis, MSD, Genomic Health, Pierre Fabre, Daiichi Sankyo, Seagen, AstraZeneca, Eisai outside the submitted work. The other authors declare no conflict of interest. The funding organizations had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Registration number: N/A

The Ground-Dwelling Arthropod Community of Península Valdés in Patagonia, Argentina

This is the first study based on a planned and intensive sampling effort that describes the community composition and structure of the ground-dwelling arthropod assemblage of Península Valdés (Patagonia). It was carried out using pitfall traps, opened for two weeks during the summers of 2005, 2006 and 2007. A total of 28, 111 individuals were caught. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) dominated this community, followed by beetles (Coleoptera) and spiders (Araneae). The most abundant species were Pheidole bergi Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Blapstinus punctulatus Solier (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Two new species were very recently described as new based on specimens collected during this study: Valdesiana curiosa Carpintero, Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Miridae) and Anomaloptera patagonica Dellapé & Cheli (Hemiptera, Oxycarenidae). The order Coleoptera was the most diverse taxa. The distribution of abundance data was best described by the logarithmic series model both at the family and species levels, suggesting that ecological relationships in this community could be controlled by a few factors. The community was dominated by predators from a trophic perspective. This suggests that predation acts as an important factor driving the distribution and abundances of surface-dwelling arthropods in this habitat and as such serves as a key element in understanding desert, above-ground community structure. These findings may also be useful for management and conservation purposes in arid Patagonia

An NMR-based model to investigate the metabolic phenoreversion of COVID-19 patients throughout a longitudinal study.

After SARS-CoV-2 infection, the molecular phenoreversion of the immunological response and its associated metabolic dysregulation are required for a full recovery of the patient. This process is patient-dependent due to the manifold possibilities induced by virus severity, its phylogenic evolution and the vaccination status of the population. We have here investigated the natural history of COVID-19 disease at the molecular level, characterizing the metabolic and immunological phenoreversion over time in large cohorts of hospitalized severe patients (n = 886) and non-hospitalized recovered patients that self-reported having passed the disease (n = 513). Non-hospitalized recovered patients do not show any metabolic fingerprint associated with the disease or immune alterations. Acute patients are characterized by the metabolic and lipidomic dysregulation that accompanies the exacerbated immunological response, resulting in a slow recovery time with a maximum probability of around 62 days. As a manifestation of the heterogeneity in the metabolic phenoreversion, age and severity become factors that modulate their normalization time which, in turn, correlates with changes in the atherogenesis-associated chemokine MCP-1. Our results are consistent with a model where the slow metabolic normalization in acute patients results in enhanced atherosclerotic risk, in line with the recent observation of an elevated number of cardiovascular episodes found in post-COVID-19 cohorts

Translating land cover/land use classifications to habitat taxonomies for landscape monitoring: A Mediterranean assessment

Periodic monitoring of biodiversity changes at a landscape scale constitutes a key issue for conservation managers. Earth observation (EO) data offer a potential solution, through direct or indirect mapping of species or habitats. Most national and international programs rely on the use of land cover (LC) and/or land use (LU) classification systems. Yet, these are not as clearly relatable to biodiversity in comparison to habitat classifications, and provide less scope for monitoring. While a conversion from LC/LU classification to habitat classification can be of great utility, differences in definitions and criteria have so far limited the establishment of a unified approach for such translation between these two classification systems. Focusing on five Mediterranean NATURA 2000 sites, this paper considers the scope for three of the most commonly used global LC/LU taxonomies—CORINE Land Cover, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) land cover classification system (LCCS) and the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme to be translated to habitat taxonomies. Through both quantitative and expert knowledge based qualitative analysis of selected taxonomies, FAO-LCCS turns out to be the best candidate to cope with the complexity of habitat description and provides a framework for EO and in situ data integration for habitat mapping, reducing uncertainties and class overlaps and bridging the gap between LC/LU and habitats domains for landscape monitoring—a major issue for conservation. This study also highlights the need to modify the FAO-LCCS hierarchical class description process to permit the addition of attributes based on class-specific expert knowledge to select multi-temporal (seasonal) EO data and improve classification. An application of LC/LU to habitat mapping is provided for a coastal Natura 2000 site with high classification accuracy as a result

Diagnostic potential of the plasma lipidome in infectious disease: application to acute SARS-CoV-2 infection

Improved methods are required for investigating the systemic metabolic effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection and patient stratification for precision treatment. We aimed to develop an effective method using lipid profiles for discriminating between SARS-CoV-2 infection, healthy controls, and non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infections. Targeted liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry lipid profiling was performed on discovery (20 SARS-CoV-2-positive; 37 healthy controls; 22 COVID-19 symptoms but SARS-CoV-2negative) and validation (312 SARS-CoV-2-positive; 100 healthy controls) cohorts. Orthogonal projection to latent structure-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) and Kruskal–Wallis tests were applied to establish discriminant lipids, significance, and effect size, followed by logistic regression to evaluate classification performance. OPLS-DA reported separation of SARS-CoV-2 infection from healthy controls in the discovery cohort, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 1.000. A refined panel of discriminant features consisted of six lipids from different subclasses (PE, PC, LPC, HCER, CER, and DCER). Logistic regression in the discovery cohort returned a training ROC AUC of 1.000 (sensitivity = 1.000, specificity = 1.000) and a test ROC AUC of 1.000. The validation cohort produced a training ROC AUC of 0.977 (sensitivity = 0.855, specificity = 0.948) and a test ROC AUC of 0.978 (sensitivity = 0.948, specificity = 0.922). The lipid panel was also able to differentiate SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals from SARS-CoV-2-negative individuals with COVID-19-like symptoms (specificity = 0.818). Lipid profiling and multivariate modelling revealed a signature offering mechanistic insights into SARS-CoV-2, with strong predictive power, and the potential to facilitate effective diagnosis and clinical management