Maternally derived anti-helminth antibodies predict offspring survival in a wild mammal

The transfer of antibodies from mother to offspring provides crucial protection against infection to offspring during early life in humans and domestic and laboratory animals. However, few studies have tested the consequences of variation in maternal antibody transfer for offspring fitness in the wild. Further, separating the immunoprotective effects of antibodies from their association with nutritional resources provided by mothers is difficult. Here, we measured plasma levels of total and parasite-specific antibodies in neonatal (less than 10 days old) wild Soay sheep over 25 years to quantify variation in maternal antibody transfer and test its association with offspring survival. Maternal antibody transfer was predicted by maternal age and previous antibody responses, and was consistent within mothers across years. Neonatal total IgG antibody levels were positively related to early growth, suggesting they reflected nutritional transfer. Neonatal parasite-specific IgG levels positively predicted first-year survival, independent of lamb weight, total IgG levels and subsequent lamb parasite-specific antibody levels. This relationship was partly mediated via an indirect negative association with parasite burden. We show that among-female variation in maternal antibody transfer can have long-term effects on offspring growth, parasite burden and fitness in the wild, and is likely to impact naturally occurring host–parasite dynamics

Surface and Temporal Biosignatures

Recent discoveries of potentially habitable exoplanets have ignited the prospect of spectroscopic investigations of exoplanet surfaces and atmospheres for signs of life. This chapter provides an overview of potential surface and temporal exoplanet biosignatures, reviewing Earth analogues and proposed applications based on observations and models. The vegetation red-edge (VRE) remains the most well-studied surface biosignature. Extensions of the VRE, spectral "edges" produced in part by photosynthetic or nonphotosynthetic pigments, may likewise present potential evidence of life. Polarization signatures have the capacity to discriminate between biotic and abiotic "edge" features in the face of false positives from band-gap generating material. Temporal biosignatures -- modulations in measurable quantities such as gas abundances (e.g., CO2), surface features, or emission of light (e.g., fluorescence, bioluminescence) that can be directly linked to the actions of a biosphere -- are in general less well studied than surface or gaseous biosignatures. However, remote observations of Earth's biosphere nonetheless provide proofs of concept for these techniques and are reviewed here. Surface and temporal biosignatures provide complementary information to gaseous biosignatures, and while likely more challenging to observe, would contribute information inaccessible from study of the time-averaged atmospheric composition alone.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, review to appear in Handbook of Exoplanets. Fixed figure conversion error

Fusion cuisine:A functional approach to interdisciplinary cooking in journalism studies

Journalism studies as an academic field is characterized by multidisciplinarity. Focusing on one object of study, journalism and the news, it established itself by integrating and synthesizing approaches from established disciplines – a tendency that lives on today. This constant gaze to the outside for conceptual inspiration and methodological tools lends itself to a journalism studies that is a fusion cuisine of media, communication, and related scholarship. However, what happens when this object becomes as fragmented and multifaceted as the ways we study it? This essay addresses the challenge of multiplicity in journalism studies by introducing an audience-centred, functional approach to scholarship. We argue this approach encourages the creative intellectual advancements afforded by interdisciplinary experimental cooking while respecting the classical intellectual questions that helped define the culinary tradition of journalism studies in the first place. In so doing, we offer a recipe for journalism studies fusion cooking that: (1) considers technological change (audiences’ diets), (2) analyses institutional change (audiences’ supermarket of information), and (3) evaluates journalism’s societal and democratic impact (audiences’ cuisines and health)

Autism as a disorder of neural information processing: directions for research and targets for therapy

The broad variation in phenotypes and severities within autism spectrum disorders suggests the involvement of multiple predisposing factors, interacting in complex ways with normal developmental courses and gradients. Identification of these factors, and the common developmental path into which theyfeed, is hampered bythe large degrees of convergence from causal factors to altered brain development, and divergence from abnormal brain development into altered cognition and behaviour. Genetic, neurochemical, neuroimaging and behavioural findings on autism, as well as studies of normal development and of genetic syndromes that share symptoms with autism, offer hypotheses as to the nature of causal factors and their possible effects on the structure and dynamics of neural systems. Such alterations in neural properties may in turn perturb activity-dependent development, giving rise to a complex behavioural syndrome many steps removed from the root causes. Animal models based on genetic, neurochemical, neurophysiological, and behavioural manipulations offer the possibility of exploring these developmental processes in detail, as do human studies addressing endophenotypes beyond the diagnosis itself

Immediate effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient health, health-care use, and behaviours : results from an international survey of people with rheumatic diseases

Funding Information: We would like to thank all the clinicians, health-care providers, and patient organisations who helped to develop and disseminate this survey. A full list of all the contributors can be found in the appendix (pp 44?45). Preliminary results were presented at the American College of Rheumatology 2020 conference. The views expressed here are those of the authors and participating members of the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance and do not necessarily represent the views of the American College of Rheumatology, the European League Against Rheumatism, the UK National Health Service, the National Institute for Health Research, the UK Department of Health, or any other organisation. Funding Information: JSH reports grants from Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance and Rheumatology Research Alliance; and personal fees from Novartis, Pfizer, and Biogen, outside of the submitted work. JWL reports grants from Pfizer, outside of the submitted work. JAS reports grants and personal fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb; and personal fees from Gilead, Inova Diagnostics, Optum, and Pfizer, outside of the submitted work. CH reports personal fees from AstraZeneca and Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, outside of the submitted work. MJL reports grants from American College of Rheumatology during the conduct of the study and consulting fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Actelion, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, Mallinckrodt, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Sanofi, Sobi, and UCB, outside of the submitted work. SES is supported by the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium and Vasculitis Foundation outside of the submitted work. KLD reports grants from Novartis, Sobi, National Institutes of Health, and Horizon Bio, outside of the submitted work. EFM reports that the Liga Portuguesa Contra as Doenças Reumaticas received support for specific activities: grants from Abbvie, Novartis, Janssen-Cilag, Lilly Portugal, Sanofi, Grünenthal SA, MSD, Celgene, Medac, Pharmakern, GAfPA, AMGEN, A Menarini Portugal; grants and non-financial support from Pfizer; and non-financial support from Grünenthal GmbH and Tilray, outside of the submitted work. DPR is the volunteer Vice President of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, which is primarily supported by independent grants from pharmaceutical companies. DPR reports consulting fees from NovoNordisk Canada and speaking fees and an honoraria from Eli Lilly Canada, outside of the submitted work. DPR also lives with rheumatoid arthritis. SB reports personal fees from Novartis, AbbVie, Pfizer, and Horizon Pharma, outside of the submitted work. RG reports personal fees from AbbVie New Zealand, Cornerstones, Janssen New Zealand; and personal fees and non-financial support from Pfizer New Zealand, (all <$10 000) outside of the submitted work. PMM reports personal fees from Abbvie, Eli Lilly, Janssen, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB; and grants and personal fees from Orphazyme, outside of the submitted work. PCR reports personal fees from Abbvie, Gilead, Lilly, and Roche; grants and personal fees from Novartis, UCB Pharma, Janssen, and Pfizer; and non-financial support from BMS, outside of the submitted work. PS reports honoraria from being a social media editor for @ACR_Journals, outside of the submitted work. ZSW reports grants from National Institutes of Health, BMS, and Sanofi; and personal fees from Viela Bio and MedPace, outside of the submitted work. JY reports personal fees from Pfizer and Eli Lilly, and grants and personal fees from Astra Zeneca, outside of the submitted work. ES is a Board Member of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance, which is a patient-run, volunteer-based organisation whose activities are primarily supported by independent grants from pharmaceutical companies. All other authors declare no competing interests. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Elsevier LtdBackground: The impact and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with rheumatic disease are unclear. We developed the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance Patient Experience Survey to assess the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with rheumatic disease worldwide. Methods: Survey questions were developed by key stakeholder groups and disseminated worldwide through social media, websites, and patient support organisations. Questions included demographics, rheumatic disease diagnosis, COVID-19 diagnosis, adoption of protective behaviours to mitigate COVID-19 exposure, medication access and changes, health-care access and communication with rheumatologists, and changes in employment or schooling. Adults age 18 years and older with inflammatory or autoimmune rheumatic diseases were eligible for inclusion. We included participants with and without a COVID-19 diagnosis. We excluded participants reporting only non-inflammatory rheumatic diseases such as fibromyalgia or osteoarthritis. Findings: 12 117 responses to the survey were received between April 3 and May 8, 2020, and of these, 10 407 respondents had included appropriate age data. We included complete responses from 9300 adults with rheumatic disease (mean age 46·1 years; 8375 [90·1%] women, 893 [9·6%] men, and 32 [0·3%] participants who identified as non-binary). 6273 (67·5%) of respondents identified as White, 1565 (16·8%) as Latin American, 198 (2·1%) as Black, 190 (2·0%) as Asian, and 42 (0·5%) as Native American or Aboriginal or First Nation. The most common rheumatic disease diagnoses included rheumatoid arthritis (3636 [39·1%] of 9300), systemic lupus erythematosus (2882 [31·0%]), and Sjögren's syndrome (1290 [13·9%]). Most respondents (6921 [82·0%] of 8441) continued their antirheumatic medications as prescribed. Almost all (9266 [99·7%] of 9297) respondents adopted protective behaviours to limit SARS-CoV-2 exposure. A change in employment status occurred in 2524 (27·1%) of 9300) of respondents, with a 13·6% decrease in the number in full-time employment (from 4066 to 3514). Interpretation: People with rheumatic disease maintained therapy and followed public health advice to mitigate the risks of COVID-19. Substantial employment status changes occurred, with potential implications for health-care access, medication affordability, mental health, and rheumatic disease activity. Funding: American College of Rheumatology.publishersversionPeer reviewe

The Evolution of Compact Binary Star Systems

We review the formation and evolution of compact binary stars consisting of white dwarfs (WDs), neutron stars (NSs), and black holes (BHs). Binary NSs and BHs are thought to be the primary astrophysical sources of gravitational waves (GWs) within the frequency band of ground-based detectors, while compact binaries of WDs are important sources of GWs at lower frequencies to be covered by space interferometers (LISA). Major uncertainties in the current understanding of properties of NSs and BHs most relevant to the GW studies are discussed, including the treatment of the natal kicks which compact stellar remnants acquire during the core collapse of massive stars and the common envelope phase of binary evolution. We discuss the coalescence rates of binary NSs and BHs and prospects for their detections, the formation and evolution of binary WDs and their observational manifestations. Special attention is given to AM CVn-stars -- compact binaries in which the Roche lobe is filled by another WD or a low-mass partially degenerate helium-star, as these stars are thought to be the best LISA verification binary GW sources.Comment: 105 pages, 18 figure

COVID-19 in Pregnant Women With Rheumatic Disease: Data From the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance

OBJECTIVE: To describe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and pregnancy outcomes in patients with rheumatic disease who were pregnant at the time of infection. METHODS: Since March 2020 the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance (GRA) has collected cases of patients with rheumatic disease with COVID-19. We report details of pregnant women at the time of COVID-19 infection, including obstetric details separately ascertained from providers. RESULTS: We report on 39 patients, including 22 with obstetric detail available. The mean and median age was 33 years, range 24-45 years. Rheumatic disease diagnoses included: rheumatoid arthritis (n=9), systemic lupus erythematosus (n=9), psoriatic/other inflammatory arthritides (n=8) and anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome (n=6). Most had a term birth (16/22), with 3 pre-term births, one termination, one miscarriage and one woman yet to deliver at time of report. A quarter (n=10/39) of pregnant women were hospitalised following COVID-19 diagnosis. Two of 39 (5%) required supplemental oxygen (both hospitalised); no patient died. The majority did not receive specific medication treatment for their COVID-19 (n=32/39, 82%), seven patients received some combination of anti-malarials, colchicine, anti-IL-1beta, azithromycin, glucocorticoids, and lopinavir/ritonavir. CONCLUSION: Women with rheumatic diseases who were pregnant at the time of COVID-19 had favourable outcomes. These data have limitations due to the small size and methodology, though they provide cautious optimism for pregnancy outcomes for women with rheumatic disease given the increased risk of poor outcomes that have been reported in other series of pregnant women with COVID-19