Revisiting the Effects of Gender Diversity in Small Groups on Divergent Thinking: A Large-Scale Study Using Synchronous Electronic Brainstorming

Numerous studies have examined the effects of gender diversity in groups on creative performance, and no clear effect has been identified. Findings depend on situational cues making gender diversity more or less salient in groups. A large-scale study on two cohorts (N = 2,261) was conducted among business students to examine the impact of the gender diversity in small groups on divergent thinking in an idea-generation task performed by synchronous electronic brainstorming. Participants were automatically randomized in three- or four-member groups to generate ideas during 10 min on a gendered or neutral task. Then, five categories of groups where the proportion of men/women in groups varied from three/four men to three/four women were compared to examine creative performance on three divergent thinking measures (fluency, flexibility, and originality). A Multivariate Generalized Linear Mixed Model (mGLMM) showed greater fluency in all-women groups than in other groups (except mixed-gender groups composed of two men and two women), and more specifically “solo” groups composed of a single woman/man among a majority of men/women. For flexibility and originality, the superiority of all-women groups was found only in comparison to “solo” groups composed of a single woman. As gender differences are more salient in “solo” groups than in other groups faultlines may appear in groups, leading to a deleterious impact on creative performance

Biermer's anemia: a new cause of cholestasis and hepatic steatosis?

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High-Order Fluxes for Conservative Skew-Symmetric-like Schemes in Structured Meshes: Application to Compressible Flows

International audienceDeveloping high-order non-dissipative schemes is an important research task for both steady and unsteady flow computations. We take as a starting point the “built-in” de-aliasing property of the discretized skew-symmetric form for the non-linear terms of the Navier–Stokes equations, recalled in Kravchenko and Moin [1]. Two families of high-order locally conservative schemes matching this discretized skew-symmetric form are considered and rewritten in terms of telescopic fluxes for both finite difference and finite volume approximations in the context of compressible flows. The Jameson's scheme [2] is shown to be the second-order member of larger families of “skew-symmetric-like” centered schemes. The fourth-order finite volume and finite difference and the sixth-order finite difference schemes which belong to this family are provided. The proposed schemes are extended to shock capturing schemes, either by modifying the Jameson's artificial viscosity or by hybriding the centered flux with Weno [3] fluxes. An adapted interpolation is proposed to extend the use of the proposed schemes to non-regular grids. Several tests are provided, showing that the conjectured order is properly recovered, even with irregular meshes and that the shock capturing properties allow us to improve the second-order results for standard test cases. The improvement due to fourth-order is then confirmed for the estimation of the growth of two- (TS waves) and three- (Crow instability) dimensional unstable modes for both confined and free-shear flows. The last application concerns the steady computation using the Spalart–Allmaras model of a separated boundary layer: it confirms that the use of a high-order scheme improves the results, even in this type of steady applications

Karst and urban flood-induced solid discharges in Mediterranean coastal rivers: The case study of Las River (SE France)

International audienceRivers solid discharge represents a substantial environmental issue, especially for the coastal marine environment. Unlike continental climate rivers, Mediterranean rivers show large discharge variability linked to rainfall, runoff and groundwater discharge, and can be temporary dry. Solid yields are difficult to predict due to variable source of floodwater. This paper assesses the suspended solid discharge of the Las River (SE France), a small stream in karst and urban environments, and its proportion due to flood events. Floods characteristics are analyzed to explore the variability of the solid yield and the influence of urban runoff and karst springs discharge, based on in situ data. The 35 floods events monitored during a 17 months survey largely contributed to the annual yield, with a proportion of 47% of the total water, and 69% of the total solid yielded in 11% of the time. The total rainfall and the total water discharge, related to the water levels in karst springs, drive the total solid yield, mostly composed of mud (90%). Urban runoff induces higher suspended solid concentration than karst flood, but generated a lower total solid yield. Karst springs, by expanding the catchment area of the stream, largely contribute to the total volume of water discharged to the sea and enhance the sand proportion due to their influence on the maximal water discharge. These results reveal the strong influence of the karst spring hydrodynamic functioning on the sediment yield to Mediterranean coastal environments. This study also highlights the efficiency of electric conductivity data to provide valuable insights about floodwater sources and sediment transport processes

Datasets of solid and liquid discharges of an urban Mediterranean river and its karst springs (Las River, SE France)

International audienceThis data paper presents: (1) the liquid and solid discharge characteristics of the Las River, an urban Mediterranean stream flowing to the Bay of Toulon (south of France), and (2) the water height of the main karst springs supplying the Las River. We assessed the river's discharge with hydrological observations and we explored floods characteristics influencing its solid discharge [1]. The location of the monitoring station near the river's mouth was selected accordingly to accessibility and technical constraints, as far downstream as possible. The vast majority of tributaries (such as possible underground springs, stormwater outlets, urban runoff) were taken into account. A multi-parameter probe (temperature, pressure, turbidity and electric conductivity) and a sediment trap were deployed continuously for 17 months, from October 2012 to March 2014. At the river's sources, probes (temperature, water height) were deployed to characterized karst springs. Times series were averaged at a daily time step, and water height converted in discharge when the rating curve was available. Sediment samples were analyzed for grain-size distribution. Datasets may help to estimate karsts' contributions to the Mediterranean Sea and to assess their influence on rivers discharge and solid yield. Stakeholders may also use the maximum water height to evaluate the flooding risk. Our data also contribute to linking the catchment freshwater to the coastal sea, a connection yet to be fully explored

TERT Promoter Mutation as an Independent Prognostic Marker for Poor Prognosis MAPK Inhibitors-Treated Melanoma

International audienceAlthough the development of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors has greatly improved the prognosis of BRAF V600 cutaneous melanomas, the identification of molecular indicators for mutated patients at risk of early progression remains a major issue. Using an amplicon-based next-generation-sequencing (NGS) assay that targets cancer-related genes, we investigated co-occurring alterations in 89 melanoma samples. We analyzed both their association with clinicopathological variables and clinical significance in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) according to BRAF genotyping. Among co-occurring mutations, TERT promoter was the most frequently mutated gene. Although no significant difference in PFS was observed in the presence or absence of co-occurring alterations to BRAF V600 , there was a trend of longer PFS for patients harboring TERT c.-124C>T mutation. Of most interest, this mutation is an independent marker of good prognosis in subgroups of patients with poor prognosis (presence of brain metastasis and elevated level of lactate dehydrogenase, LDH). Moreover, combination of elevated LDH level, presence of brain metastasis, and TERT c.-124C>T mutation was identified as the best fit model for predicting clinical outcome. Our work revealed the potential interest of c.-124C>T status determination in order to refine the prognosis of BRAF V600 melanoma under mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors

Alu element insertion in the MLH1 exon 6 coding sequence as a mutation predisposing to Lynch syndrome

International audienceLynch syndrome (LS) is the most frequent cause of hereditary colorectal cancer. A subset of patients with a history of LS shows no causal germline pathogenic alteration and are identified as having Lynch‐like syndrome (LLS). Alu retrotransposons are the most abundant mobile DNA sequences in the human genome and have been associated with numerous human cancers by either disrupting coding regions or altering epigenetic modifications or splicing signals. We report a family first classified as having LLS by Sanger sequencing analysis. Next‐generation sequencing (NGS) analysis identified an AluY5a insertion in MLH1 exon 6 that led to exon skipping. This splicing alteration inducing a pathogenic frameshift was found in patients who developed colorectal adenocarcinomas. Retroelement insertion might thus be an important but underestimated mechanism of cancer genetics that could be systematically tested in patients with a phenotype suggesting LS to accurately assess family risk and surveillance approaches

Improving Mutation Screening in Patients with Colorectal Cancer Predisposition Using Next-Generation Sequencing

International audienceIdentification of genetic alterations is important for family risk assessment in colorectal cancers. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies provide useful tools for single-nucleotide and copy number variation (CNV) identification in many genes and samples simultaneously. Herein, we present the validation of current Multiplicom MASTR designs of mismatch repair combined to familial adenomatous polyposis genes in a single PCR reamplification test for eight DNA samples simultaneously on a MiSeq apparatus. Blood samples obtained from 224 patients were analyzed. We correctly identified the 97 mutations selected among 48 samples tested in a validation cohort. PMS2 NGS analysis of the eight positive controls identified single-nucleotide variations not detected with targeted referent methods. As NGS method could not discriminate if some of them were assigned to PMS2 or pseudogenes, only CNV analysis with multiplex ligand probe-dependent amplification confirmation was retained for clinical use. Twenty-seven new variants of unknown significance, 21 disease-causing variants, and two CNVs were detected among the 176 patient samples analyzed in diagnosis routine. MUTYH disease-causing mutations were identified in two patient samples assessed for mismatch repair testing, confirming that this method facilitates accurate and rapid individual risk assessments. In one sample, the MUTYH mutation was associated with a MSH6 disease-causing mutation, suggesting that this method is helpful to identify additional cancer risk modifiers and provides a useful tool to optimize clinical issues