Identification of far-red light acclimation in an endolithic Chroococcidiopsis strain and associated genomic features: Implications for oxygenic photosynthesis on exoplanets

Deserts represent extreme habitats where photosynthetic life is restricted to the lithic niche. The ability of rock-inhabiting cyanobacteria to modify their photosynthetic apparatus and harvest far-red light (near-infrared) was investigated in 10 strains of the genus Chroococcidiopsis, previously isolated from diverse endolithic and hypolithic desert communities. The analysis of their growth capacity, photosynthetic pigments, and apcE2-gene presence revealed that only Chroococcidiopsis sp. CCMEE 010 was capable of far-red light photoacclimation (FaRLiP). A total of 15 FaRLiP genes were identified, encoding paralogous subunits of photosystem I, photosystem II, and the phycobilisome, along with three regulatory elements. CCMEE 010 is unique among known FaRLiP strains by undergoing this acclimation process with a significantly reduced cluster, which lacks major photosystem I paralogs psaA and psaB. The identification of an endolithic, extremotolerant cyanobacterium capable of FaRLiP not only contributes to our appreciation of this phenotype’s distribution in nature but also has implications for the possibility of oxygenic photosynthesis on exoplanets

3cixty: Building comprehensive knowledge bases for city exploration

International audiencePlanning a visit to Expo Milano 2015 or simply touring in Milan are activities that require a certain amount of a priori knowledge of the city. In this paper, we present the process of building such comprehensive knowledge bases that contain descriptions of events and activities, places and sights, transportation facilities as well as social activities, collected from numerous static, near-and real-time local and global data providers, including hyper local sources such as the Expo Milano 2015 official services and several social media platforms. Entities in the 3cixty KB are deduplicated, interlinked and enriched using semantic technologies. The 3cixty KB is empowering the ExplorMI 360 multi-device application, which has been officially endorsed by the E015 Technical Management Board and has gained the patronage of Expo Milano in 2015, thus has offered a unique testing scenario for the 20 million visitors along the 6 months of the exhibit. In 2016-2017, new knowledge bases have been created for the cities of London, Madeira and Singapore, as well as for the entire French Cote d'Azur area. The 3cixty KB is accessible at https: //kb.3cixty.com/sparql while ExplorMI 360 at https://www.3cixty.com and in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store

3cixty@Expo Milano 2015: Enabling Visitors to Explore a Smart City

-Planning a visit to Expo Milano 2015 or simply touring in Milan are activities that require a certain amount of a priori knowledge of the city. In this paper, we present the process of building such a comprehensive knowledge base, the 3cixty KB, that contains descriptions of events, places, transportation facilities and social activities, collected from numerous static, near-and real-time local and global data providers, including Expo Milano 2015 official services and several social media platforms. Entities in the 3cixty KB are deduplicated, interlinked and enriched using semantic technologies. The 3cixty KB is empowering the Ex-plorMI 360 multi-device application, which has been officially endorsed by the E015 Technical Management Board and has gained the patronage of Expo Milano 2015, thus offering a unique testing scenario for the 20 million expected visitors along the 6 months of the exhibit. As of Septem-ber 7th, 2015 the 3cixty KB contains unique descriptions of 18, 665 events, 758 artists, 225, 552 places, 9, 342 transportation facilities, 95, 570 illustrating photos and 94, 789 reviews contributed by 81, 944 users. The 3cixty KB is accessible at http://3cixty.eurecom.fr/sparql while Ex-plorMI 360 at https://www.3cixty.com

Colorectal Cancer Stage at Diagnosis Before vs During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy

IMPORTANCE Delays in screening programs and the reluctance of patients to seek medical attention because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 could be associated with the risk of more advanced colorectal cancers at diagnosis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was associated with more advanced oncologic stage and change in clinical presentation for patients with colorectal cancer. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This retrospective, multicenter cohort study included all 17 938 adult patients who underwent surgery for colorectal cancer from March 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021 (pandemic period), and from January 1, 2018, to February 29, 2020 (prepandemic period), in 81 participating centers in Italy, including tertiary centers and community hospitals. Follow-up was 30 days from surgery. EXPOSURES Any type of surgical procedure for colorectal cancer, including explorative surgery, palliative procedures, and atypical or segmental resections. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was advanced stage of colorectal cancer at diagnosis. Secondary outcomes were distant metastasis, T4 stage, aggressive biology (defined as cancer with at least 1 of the following characteristics: signet ring cells, mucinous tumor, budding, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, and lymphangitis), stenotic lesion, emergency surgery, and palliative surgery. The independent association between the pandemic period and the outcomes was assessed using multivariate random-effects logistic regression, with hospital as the cluster variable. RESULTS A total of 17 938 patients (10 007 men [55.8%]; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [12.2] years) underwent surgery for colorectal cancer: 7796 (43.5%) during the pandemic period and 10 142 (56.5%) during the prepandemic period. Logistic regression indicated that the pandemic period was significantly associated with an increased rate of advanced-stage colorectal cancer (odds ratio [OR], 1.07; 95%CI, 1.01-1.13; P = .03), aggressive biology (OR, 1.32; 95%CI, 1.15-1.53; P < .001), and stenotic lesions (OR, 1.15; 95%CI, 1.01-1.31; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This cohort study suggests a significant association between the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the risk of a more advanced oncologic stage at diagnosis among patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer and might indicate a potential reduction of survival for these patients

Soil- and waterborne Phytophthora species linked to recent outbreaks in Northern California restoration sites

Many studies around the globe have identified plant production facilities as major sources of plant pathogens that may be released in the wild, with significant consequences for the health and integrity of natural ecosystems. Recently, a large number of soilborne and waterborne species belonging to the plant pathogenic genus Phytophthora have been identified for the first time in California native plant production facilities, including those focused on the production of plant stock used in ecological restoration efforts. Additionally, the same Phytophthora species present in production facilities have often been identified in failing restoration projects, further endangering plant species already threatened or endangered. To our knowledge, the identification of Phytophthora species in restoration areas and in plant production facilities that produce plant stock for restoration projects is a novel discovery that finds many land managers unprepared, due to a lack of previous experience with these pathogens. This review summarizes some of the key knowledge about the genus Phytophthora in general and lists some of the many soilborne and waterborne species recently recovered from some California restoration sites and plant production facilities