A compact and cost-effective hard X-ray free-electron laser driven by a high-brightness and low-energy electron beam

We present the first lasing results of SwissFEL, a hard X-ray free-electron laser (FEL) that recently came into operation at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. SwissFEL is a very stable, compact and cost-effective X-ray FEL facility driven by a low-energy and ultra-low-emittance electron beam travelling through short-period undulators. It delivers stable hard X-ray FEL radiation at 1-Å wavelength with pulse energies of more than 500 μJ, pulse durations of ~30 fs (root mean square) and spectral bandwidth below the per-mil level. Using special configurations, we have produced pulses shorter than 1 fs and, in a different set-up, broadband radiation with an unprecedented bandwidth of ~2%. The extremely small emittance demonstrated at SwissFEL paves the way for even more compact and affordable hard X-ray FELs, potentially boosting the number of facilities worldwide and thereby expanding the population of the scientific community that has access to X-ray FEL radiation

A Deep Insight into the Sialome of Rhodnius neglectus, a vector of chagas disease

Background Triatomines are hematophagous insects that act as vectors of Chagas disease. Rhodnius neglectus is one of these kissing bugs found, contributing to the transmission of this American trypanosomiasis. The saliva of hematophagous arthropods contains bioactive molecules responsible for counteracting host haemostatic, inflammatory, and immuneresponses. Methods/Principal Findings Next generation sequencing and mass spectrometry-based protein identification were performed to investigate the content of triatomine R. neglectus saliva.We deposited 4,230 coding DNA sequences (CDS) in GenBank. A set of 636 CDS of proteins of putative secretory nature was extracted from the assembled reads, 73 of them confirmed by proteomic analysis. The sialome of R. neglectus was characterized and serine protease transcripts detected. The presence of ubiquitous protein families was revealed, including lipocalins, serine protease inhibitors, and antigen-5. Metalloproteases, disintegrins, and odorant binding protein families were less abundant. Conclusions/Significance The data presented improve our understanding of hematophagous arthropod sialomes, and aid in understanding hematophagy and the complex interplay among vectors and their vertebrate hosts

Effects of eight neuropsychiatric copy number variants on human brain structure

peer reviewedMany copy number variants (CNVs) confer risk for the same range of neurodevelopmental symptoms and psychiatric conditions including autism and schizophrenia. Yet, to date neuroimaging studies have typically been carried out one mutation at a time, showing that CNVs have large effects on brain anatomy. Here, we aimed to characterize and quantify the distinct brain morphometry effects and latent dimensions across 8 neuropsychiatric CNVs. We analyzed T1-weighted MRI data from clinically and non-clinically ascertained CNV carriers (deletion/duplication) at the 1q21.1 (n = 39/28), 16p11.2 (n = 87/78), 22q11.2 (n = 75/30), and 15q11.2 (n = 72/76) loci as well as 1296 non-carriers (controls). Case-control contrasts of all examined genomic loci demonstrated effects on brain anatomy, with deletions and duplications showing mirror effects at the global and regional levels. Although CNVs mainly showed distinct brain patterns, principal component analysis (PCA) loaded subsets of CNVs on two latent brain dimensions, which explained 32 and 29% of the variance of the 8 Cohen’s d maps. The cingulate gyrus, insula, supplementary motor cortex, and cerebellum were identified by PCA and multi-view pattern learning as top regions contributing to latent dimension shared across subsets of CNVs. The large proportion of distinct CNV effects on brain morphology may explain the small neuroimaging effect sizes reported in polygenic psychiatric conditions. Nevertheless, latent gene brain morphology dimensions will help subgroup the rapidly expanding landscape of neuropsychiatric variants and dissect the heterogeneity of idiopathic conditions. © 2021, The Author(s)

Surviving 49 days on extracorporeal life support complicated by lung necrosis, pneumothorax, intrathoracic hematoma, and bronchopleural fistulas in a 13-year-old

The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or extracorporeal life support (ECLS) has rapidly grown since the 1960s. Improvements in materials, device mechanics, the treatment of the underlying conditions, and provider proficiency, have resulted in better outcomes. The most common indication for ECLS in the pediatric population is viral pneumonia [1]. Complications secondary to ECLS are common with thromboembolic events (8%) and hemorrhage (27%) being amongst the most frequent [2]. We report a case of a 13-year-old female who presented to the Emergency Department with altered mental status and respiratory distress following a treatment course for influenza. She was diagnosed with multifocal pneumonia and developed fulminant respiratory failure requiring ECLS. The causative organism was later found to be Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA). She was maintained on ECLS for 49 days and developed secondary complications of lung necrosis, an intrathoracic hematoma, and multiple bronchopleural fistulae. She was managed non-operatively for these complications until she stabilized enough to be weaned off ECMO. In this particular case, we resisted the urge to surgically intervene until she was decannulated. On day 86, she underwent a thoracotomy for evacuation of an intrathoracic hematoma and repair of a bronchopleural fistula. The patient survived and was discharged on hospital day 146. Currently, she is thriving and recovering well. We present this case due to its unusual duration of ECLS and to highlight the decision-making behind the initial non-operative management of the life-threatening complications that ensued