Acute Muscular Sarcocystosis: An International Investigation Among Ill Travelers Returning From Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2011-2012

A large outbreak of acute muscular sarcocystosis (AMS) among international tourists who visited Tioman Island, Malaysia, is described. Clinicians evaluating travelers returning ill from Malaysia with myalgia, with or without fever, should consider AMS in their differential diagnosi

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Global wealth disparities drive adherence to COVID-safe pathways in head and neck cancer surgery

Peer reviewe

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Increase in Ocular Syphilis Cases at Ophthalmologic Reference Center, France, 2012–2015

We describe the frequency, demographic and clinical features, and visual outcomes of ocular syphilis infections observed during 2012–2015 at a tertiary reference center in Paris, France. Twenty-one cases (29 eyes) were identified. The occurrence of ocular syphilis increased from 1 case in 2012 to 5 cases in 2013, 6 cases in 2014, and 9 cases in 2015 (2.22–25.21/1,000 individual patients/year for the period). Among case-patients, an annual 20%–33% were co-infected with HIV. Seventy-six percent of ocular syphilis infections occurred in men who have sex with men. Seventy-five percent of case-patients had a good final visual outcome (best-corrected visual acuity >0.3 logMAR score). Visual outcome was worse for HIV-positive patients than for HIV-negative patients (p = 0.0139). At follow-up, the best visual outcomes were observed in patients whose mean time from first ocular symptom to consultation was 15 days (SD +19 days)

Interferon alpha extends the survival of human myeloma cells through an upregulation of the Mcl-1 anti-apoptotic molecule

International audienceWe have recently reported that Mcl-1, an anti-apoptotic member of the Bcl-2 family, is upregulated by interleukin (IL)-6 in human myeloma cells through the janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transduction (JAK/STAT) pathway. In the current study, we have explored the effects of interferon (IFN)-alpha, a cytokine which has been shown to increase myeloma cell survival. Our results demonstrate that IFN-alpha potently upregulates Mcl-1 on both myeloma cell lines and purified native myeloma cells. Of note, this upregulation is not due to an induction of an IL-6 autocrine loop. Furthermore, we showed that IL-6 and IFN-alpha had no additive effect on Mcl-1 upregulation, suggesting that both cytokines act through a common mechanism. Finally, the analysis of signalling transduction pathways strongly suggests that Mcl-1 upregulation induced by IFN-alpha depends on STAT3 activation. Altogether, our data show that IFN-alpha has an IL-6-like effect on human myeloma cells and suggest that it could be deleterious in some patients