Improved satellite altimeter mapped sea level anomalies in the Mediterranean Sea: A comparison with tide gauges

The new gridded Mediterranean sea level anomaly product recently released by AVISO (DT14) is evaluated and compared with the earlier version (DT10) at which it is aimed to substitute. Differences between the two products are found along coastal regions, where the new version captures more variability (up to 10% more) and trends locally differ by up to 1 mm/yr for the altimetric period. Coastal tide gauge observations have therefore been used as the basis for quantifying changes in DT14. Correlation and variance reduction in available monthly tide gauge time series are improved in more than 80% of the selected sites by up to 0.2 and 5 cm2, respectively. This resulted in an overall higher skill to recover coastal low frequency (with periods larger than a few months) sea level signals. Results for higher/lower order percentiles were also explored and showed different performances depending on the site, although with a slight overall improvement. A comparison with tide gauges on a daily basis using wavelet analysis reveals that altimetry gridded products are not capable of recovering higher frequency (a few days) coastal sea level signals despite some advances have been achieved thanks to the daily temporal sampling of DT14M. Marcos acknowledges a “Ramon y Cajal” contract funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy. Funding from the MyOcean-Follow-On project (PRE-OPERATIONAL MARINE CONTINUITY IN TRANSITION TOWARDS COPERNICUS- H2020-SPACE/0003) is acknowledgedPeer Reviewe

DUACS DT2021 reprocessed altimetry improves sea level retrieval in the coastal band of the European Seas

More than 29 years of altimeter data have been recently reprocessed by the multi satellite Data Unification and Altimeter Combination System (DUACS) and made available under the name of DT2021 processing through the Copernicus Marine Service (CMEMS) and the Copernicus Climate Change (C3S) Service. New standards have been applied and various geophysical correction parameters were updated compared to the previous release in order to improve the product quality. This paper describes the assessment of this new release through the comparison of both all satellites and two satellites products with external in situ tide gauge measurements in the coastal areas of the European Seas. The aim is to quantify the improvements on the previous DT2018 processing version on the retrieval of sea level in the coastal zone. The results confirmed that the new DT2021 processing version better solves the signal in the coastal band. Moreover, the all satellites dataset provided more accurate sea level measurements when comparing with tide gauges respect to the climatic two satellites dataset due to the better performance of the former for the assessment of higher than climatic frequency signals. On the opposite, we found the two satellite dataset the most suitable product for the assessment of long term sea level time series in the coastal zone due to its larger stability to the detriment of the all satellites dataset.</p

Unusual presentation of hepatitis B serological markers in an Amerindian community of Venezuela with a majority of occult cases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is characterized by the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the absence of HBsAg in the serum of patients. The aim of this study was to characterize HBV infection among a Piaroa community, an Amerindian group which exhibits significant evidence of exposure to HBV but relatively low presence of HBsAg, and to explore the presence of OBI in this population.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 150 sera, with 17% anti-HBc and 1.3% HBsAg prevalence, 70 were tested for the presence of HBV DNA. From these, 25 (36%) were found positive for HBV DNA by PCR in the core region. Two of these 25 sera were HBsAg positive, indicating an overt infection. Of the remaining 68 sera tested, 23 exhibited OBI. Of these, 13 were HBV DNA out of 25 anti-HBc positive (52%) and 10 HBV DNA positive, out of 43 anti-HBc negative (23%), with a statistical significance of <it>p </it>= 0.03. Viral DNA and HBsAg were present intermittently in follow up sera of 13 individuals. Sequence analysis in the core region of the amplified DNA products showed that all the strains belonged to HBV genotype F3. The OBI isolates displayed 96-100% nucleotide identity between them. One isolate exhibited the co-circulation of a wild type variant with a variant with a premature stop codon at the core protein, and a variant exhibiting a deletion of 28 amino acids.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The frequency of OBI found in this Amerindian group warrants further studies in other communities exhibiting different degrees of HBV exposure.</p

A novel hypomorphic splice variant in EIF2B5 gene is associated with mild ovarioleukodystrophy

Objective: To identify the genetic cause in an adult ovarioleukodystrophy patient resistant to diagnosis. Methods: We applied whole-exome sequencing (WES) to a vanishing white matter disease patient associated with premature ovarian failure at 26 years of age. We functionally tested an intronic variant by RT-PCR on patient's peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and by minigene splicing assay. Results: WES analysis identified two novel variants in the EIF2B5 gene: c.725A > G (p.Tyr242Cys) and an intronic noncanonical mutation (c.1156 + 13G>A). This intronic mutation resulted into generation of various isoforms both in patient's PBMC and in the minigene splicing assay, showing that ~20% residual wild-type isoform is still expressed by the intronic-mutated allele alone, concordant with an hypomorphic effect of this variant. Conclusion: We report two novel variants in EIF2B5, one of them a noncanonical intronic splice variant, located at a +13 intronic position. This position is mutated only in 0.05% of ClinVar intronic mutations described so far. Furthermore, we illustrate how minigene splicing assay may be advantageous when validating splice-altering variants, in this case highlighting the coexistence of wild-type and mutated forms, probably explaining this patient's milder, late-onset phenotype

Collective action or individual choice: Spontaneity and individuality contribute to decision-making in Drosophila

Our own unique character traits make our behavior consistent and define our individuality. Yet, this consistency does not entail that we behave repetitively like machines. Like humans, animals also combine personality traits with spontaneity to produce adaptive behavior: consistent, but not fully predictable. Here, we study an iconically rigid behavioral trait, insect phototaxis, that nevertheless also contains both components of individuality and spontaneity. In a light/dark T-maze, approximately 70% of a group of Drosophila fruit flies choose the bright arm of the T-Maze, while the remaining 30% walk into the dark. Taking the photopositive and the photonegative subgroups and re-testing them reveals the spontaneous component: a similar 70–30 distribution emerges in each of the two subgroups. Increasing the number of choices to ten choices, reveals the individuality component: flies with an extremely negative series of first choices were more likely to show photonegative behavior in subsequent choices and vice versa. General behavioral traits, independent of light/dark preference, contributed to the development of this individuality. The interaction of individuality and spontaneity together explains why group averages, even for such seemingly stereotypical behaviors, are poor predictors of individual choices

Using Argo Floats to Characterize Altimetry Products: A Study of Eddy-Induced Subsurface Oxygen Anomalies in the Black Sea

peer reviewedThe identification of mesoscale eddies from remote sensing altimetry is often used as a first step for downstream analyses of surface or subsurface auxiliary data sets, in a so-called composite analysis framework. This framework aims at characterizing the mean perturbations induced by eddies on oceanic variables, by merging the local anomalies of multiple data instances according to their relative position to eddies. Here, we evaluate different altimetry data sets derived for the Black Sea and compare their adequacy to characterize subsurface oxygen and salinity signatures induced by cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies. In particular, we propose that the theoretical consistency and estimated error of the reconstructed mean anomaly may serve to qualify the accuracy of gridded altimetry products and that BGC-Argo data provide a strong asset in that regard. The most recent of these data sets, prepared with a coastal concern in the frame of the ESA EO4SIBS project, provides statistics of eddy properties that, in comparison with earlier products, are closer to model simulations, in particular for coastal anticyclones. More importantly, the subsurface signature of eddies reconstructed from BGC-Argo floats data is more consistent when the EO4SIBS data set is used to relocate the profiles into an eddy-centric coordinate system. Besides, we reveal intense subsurface oxygen anomalies which stress the importance of mesoscale contribution to Black Sea oxygen dynamics and support the hypothesis that this contribution extends beyond transport and involves net biogeochemical processes

Détection automatique des œdèmes aigus pulmonaires de surcharge post-transfusionnels dans les dossiers patients informatisés

International audienceTransfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) is a serious adverse event following the transfusion of a labile blood product. Although these events must be reported, under-reporting is common. In this article, we describe the implementation of a semi-automated surveillance system based on automatic language processing of textual data from electronic health records. An algorithm detects the concepts of transfusion and pulmonary edema in the same sentence and generates an alert transmitted to the hemovigilance department. Several unreported cases of TACO were detected by this approach and confirmed after manual validation. This innovative approach is likely to help hemovigilance units detect and monitor post-transfusion adverse events.Les oedèmes aigus pulmonaires de surcharge post-transfusionnels (TACO) sont des évènements indésirables graves consécutifs à la transfusion d'un produit sanguin labile. Bien que ces évènements doivent être signalés, les sous-déclarations sont fréquentes. Dans cet article, nous décrivons l'implémentation d'un système de surveillance semi-automatisé basé sur le traitement automatique de la langue des données textuelles des dossiers patients informatisés. Un algorithme détecte les concepts de transfusion et d'oedème pulmonaire dans une même phrase et génère une alerte transmise aux hémovigilants. Plusieurs cas de TACO non signalés ont été détectés par cette approche puis confirmés après enquête d'hémovigilance. Cette approche innovante est susceptible d'aider les unités d'hémovigilance à détecter et surveiller des évènements indésirables post-transfusionnels dans les établissements

Routine molecular profiling of cancer: results of a one-year nationwide program of the French Cooperative Thoracic Intergroup (IFCT) for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

International audienceBackground: The molecular profiling of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) for known oncogenic drivers is recommended during routine care. Nationally, however, the feasibility and effects on outcomes of this policy are unknown. We aimed to assess the characteristics, molecular profiles, and clinical outcomes of patients who were screened during a 1-year period by a nationwide programme funded by the French National Cancer Institute. Methods This study included patients with advanced NSCLC, who were routinely screened for EGFR mutations, ALK rearrangements, as well as HER2 (ERBB2), KRAS, BRAF, and PIK3CA mutations by 28 certified regional genetics centres in France. Patients were assessed consecutively during a 1-year period from April, 2012, to April, 2013. We measured the frequency of molecular alterations in the six routinely screened genes, the turnaround time in obtaining molecular results, and patients' clinical outcomes. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01700582. Findings 18 679 molecular analyses of 17 664 patients with NSCLC were done (of patients with known data, median age was 64·5 years [range 18–98], 65% were men, 81% were smokers or former smokers, and 76% had adenocarcinoma). The median interval between the initiation of analysis and provision of the written report was 11 days (IQR 7–16). A genetic alteration was recorded in about 50% of the analyses; EGFR mutations were reported in 1947 (11%) of 17 706 analyses for which data were available, HER2 mutations in 98 (1%) of 11 723, KRAS mutations in 4894 (29%) of 17 001, BRAF mutations in 262 (2%) of 13 906, and PIK3CA mutations in 252 (2%) of 10 678; ALK rearrangements were reported in 388 (5%) of 8134 analyses. The median duration of follow-up at the time of analysis was 24·9 months (95% CI 24·8–25·0). The presence of a genetic alteration affected first-line treatment for 4176 (51%) of 8147 patients and was associated with a significant improvement in the proportion of patients achieving an overall response in first-line treatment (37% [95% CI 34·7–38·2] for presence of a genetic alteration vs 33% [29·5–35·6] for absence of a genetic alteration; p=0·03) and in second-line treatment (17% [15·0–18·8] vs 9% [6·7–11·9]; p&lt;0·0001). Presence of a genetic alteration was also associated with improved first-line progression-free survival (10·0 months [95% CI 9·2–10·7] vs 7·1 months [6·1–7·9]; p&lt;0·0001) and overall survival (16·5 months [15·0–18·3] vs 11·8 months [10·1–13·5]; p&lt;0·0001) compared with absence of a genetic alteration. Interpretation Routine nationwide molecular profiling of patients with advanced NSCLC is feasible. The frequency of genetic alterations, acceptable turnaround times in obtaining analysis results, and the clinical advantage provided by detection of a genetic alteration suggest that this policy provides a clinical benefit