Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

PATJ Low Frequency Variants Are Associated with Worse Ischemic Stroke Functional Outcome: A Genome-Wide Meta-Analysis

RATIONALE: Ischemic stroke is among the leading causes of adult disability. Part of the variability in functional outcome after stroke has been attributed to genetic factors but no locus has been consistently associated with stroke outcome. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to identify genetic loci influencing the recovery process using accurate phenotyping to produce the largest GWAS (genome-wide association study) in ischemic stroke recovery to date. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 12-cohort, 2-phase (discovery-replication and joint) meta-analysis of GWAS included anterior-territory and previously independent ischemic stroke cases. Functional outcome was recorded using 3-month modified Rankin Scale. Analyses were adjusted for confounders such as discharge National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale. A gene-based burden test was performed. The discovery phase (n=1225) was followed by open (n=2482) and stringent joint-analyses (n=1791). Those cohorts with modified Rankin Scale recorded at time points other than 3-month or incomplete data on previous functional status were excluded in the stringent analyses. Novel variants in PATJ (Pals1-associated tight junction) gene were associated with worse functional outcome at 3-month after stroke. The top variant was rs76221407 (G allele, β=0.40, P=1.70×10-9). CONCLUSIONS: Our results identify a set of common variants in PATJ gene associated with 3-month functional outcome at genome-wide significance level. Future studies should examine the role of PATJ in stroke recovery and consider stringent phenotyping to enrich the information captured to unveil additional stroke outcome loci

Estimation of phytoplankton size structure in coastal waters using simultaneous laser diffraction and fluorescence measurements

© 2015 The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected]. The size structure of phytoplankton reveals relevant information on the structure and response of aquatic systems to environmental drivers. To estimate the phytoplankton size distribution, we combined simultaneous particle size measurements obtained with a laser in situ scattering and transmissometry instrument (LISST) and fluorescence profiles using canonical correlation analysis (CCA). We tested the performance of this method with a series of synthetic laboratory samples generated by mixing cultured phytoplankton cells and natural sediments with grain sizes within the size range of phytoplankton. Our results revealed that the method yields reliable estimation of the algal fraction allowing the discrimination of phytoplankton size distribution when algal cells constitute >25% of total suspended particulate matter. Uncertainties arise in very turbid waters and when samples are composed of two phytoplankton species with very different contribution to chlorophyll in terms of cell size. Application of the proposed method in a survey of 37 stations carried out in Palma Bay (Mediterranean Sea) effectively represented the patterns of four main size fractions dominating coastal phytoplankton biomass, demonstrating the utility of the method. Compared to previous published methods, the proposed method is more robust because it is not impeded by the presence of non-algal components.This work was partly supported by EHRE (CTM2009-08270) and GRADIENTS (CTM2012-39476) projects. A.J. was supported by a Ramón y Cajal grant (RYC-2010-06898) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. S.A. was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (GA-302562) within the 7th European Community Framework ProgrammePeer Reviewe

The influence of sediment sources on radium-derived estimates of Submarine Groundwater Discharge

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. The influence of sediments on the determination of SGD by using Ra isotopes was investigated in the Port of Maó (Balearic Islands, NW Mediterranean). This natural harbor was selected because SGD occurs all along its southern boundary and it is covered by fine-grained sediments that are frequently resuspended due to vessel maneuvering. Comprehensive seasonal Ra mass balances were constructed for the waters of the Port of Maó using both short-lived (224Ra) and long-lived (228Ra) Ra isotopes. SGD flows to the Port of Maó obtained by using 228Ra revealed a seasonal pattern, likely dominated by the recharge cycle, with maximum SGD rates during the wet seasons ((180±100)·103m3·day-1 in fall) and minimum flows during summer ((56±35)·103m3·day-1). The results also showed that the Ra flux from bottom sediments, through diffusion and due to releases associated to resuspension events, represented a significant source of Ra to the harbor waters. This sedimentary source accounted for a major fraction of the 224Ra supplied to the system (30-90%, depending on the season), whereas the sediment influence on the 228Ra mass balance was significantly lower (10-40%) due to its slower production rate. These findings suggested that attributing Ra inputs to the water column solely to SGD in systems covered by fine-grained sediments and/or affected by processes that favor Ra exchange across the sediment-water interface might not be accurate, requiring a detailed evaluation of the sediment sources. The inputs from sediments are often difficult to quantify, but using long-lived Ra isotopes to estimate the SGD flow may minimize the effect of a poor characterization of the sediment source.This project has been partially funded by the Spanish Government Project EHRE (ref. CTM2009-08270). V.R. acknowledges financial support through a PhD fellowship (AP2008-03044) from MICINN (Spain). Authors want to thank the support of the Generalitat de Catalunya to MERS (2014 SGR-1356). Support for the research of P.M. was received through the prize ICREA Academia, funded by the Generalitat de Catalunya and by a Gledden Visiting Fellowship awarded by the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University ofWestern AustraliaPeer Reviewe

Pelagic diatoms communicate through synchronized beacon natural fluorescence signaling

Communication between conspecific individuals is an essential part of life both in terrestrial and marine realms. Until recently, social behavior in marine phytoplankton was assumed to rely mainly on the secretion of a variety of infochemicals that allowed population-scale collective responses. Here, we demonstrate that pelagic diatoms also use Sun-stimulated fluorescence signals for synchronizing their behavior. These unicellular microorganisms, playing a key biogeochemical role in the ocean, use photoreceptor proteins and red–far-red fluorescent radiation to communicate. A characteristic beaconing signal is generated by rhythmic organelle displacement within the cell cytoplasm, triggering coordinated population behavior. These light-based communication networks could critically determine major facets of diatom ecology and fitness and regulate the dynamics of larger-scale ocean processes

Cross-Shore Environmental Gradients in the Western Mediterranean Coast

Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Mountains of the Sea, 26 February - 3 March 2017, Honolulu, Hawai`iNearshore shallow waters (i.e. < 2 km from the coast and < 20 m depth) represent a transitional area between land and open ocean where key marine ecological processes occur. During summer, when oligotrophic conditions prevail offshore in the Mediterranean Sea, an alongshore zone with enhanced phytoplankton biomass is often evidenced in these waters. Here, using continuous underway measurements as well as discrete samples, we describe the cross-shore environmental typology and the associated microbial planktonic communities of these waters. Cross-shore temperature, salinity and fluorescence transects obtained from coast to offshore reveal widespread presence of modified water bands generated by nearshore temperature warming and diffuse groundwater discharges in the Mediterranean Sea. Intense phytoplankton biomass buildup was associated with these modified waters (up to 50 fold offshore chlorophyll). We show that the physical and chemical characteristics of this nearshore stripe dramatically vary at scales of hours following a diurnal cycle that is regulated by heating and wind forcing. Plankton communities characterized by increased microplankton and bacterioplankton populations are able to actively exploit these nearshore conditions, constituting an independent and distinct assemblage from that prevailing further offshore. Our study argues the relevance of the formation of a nearshore niche and its temporal stability for the development of a distinct microbial community which could eventually favor the emergence of harmful algal bloomsPeer Reviewe

Assessing phytoplankton community composition using combined pigment and particle size distribution analysis

Changes in phytoplankton composition reveal relevant information about the response of aquatic systems to environmental drivers. Here, we propose the combined use of particle size measurements and pigment signatures to analyze the changes in the composition of phytoplankton communities at a coastal location. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) was applied to separate phytoplankton signals from non-algal components of particulate matter in concurrent measurements of particle size distribution and pigment concentrations (chlorophylls a, b and c). Using this method, we were able to identify phytoplankton community structure variations at size and functional levels associated with the water column during the spring to summer transition at a Mediterranean coastal site. Some taxa with characteristic size spectrum signatures such as Pseudonitzschia sp., which produced an intense (up to 5 × 10 cells l), but ephemeral bloom, could also be identified. The general patterns of phytoplankton succession obtained using this methodology were corroborated by light microscopy and flow cytometry identification. Phytoplankton biovolume comparisons between both methods were highly consistent (r = 0.75, p < 0.01). We consider that combined pigment and size structure analysis using CCA is a useful tool to determine reorganization patterns of phytoplankton via changes in species compositionThis study is a result of the MINECO Grant ‘GRADIENTS Fine-scale structure of cross-shore GRADIENTS along the Mediterranean coast (CTM2012-39476).’ J.S.F.-M.’s work was supported by a PhD fellowship from Conselleria d’Educació (Govern de les Illes Balears) and Fondo Social Europeo (FSE). S.A.’s work was funded by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the 7th European Community Framework Programme (Project CONPLANK, PIOF-GA-2011-302562)Peer Reviewe

Pairing in Pennate Diatoms (sex in troubled waters)

Poster presented at the Microscale Ocean Biophysics, held on Jan 11-16th 2019, in Whistler, Canada.Diatoms are one of the most successful phytoplankton groups, playing a key role in global carbon cycles. They proliferate in well-mixed, nutrient rich waters by rapid asexual cell divisions, constituting the trophic base of most productive ecosystems. However, sexual reproduction occurring after several cell divisions is of paramount importance for the persistence of diatoms over generations. Pairing for sexual reproduction in an inherently turbulent and threedimensional system, such as the marine environment, is a difficult task for non-motile organisms with scarce control of their orientation