The risk of congenital neurologic defects related to Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has ranged from 6 to 42% in various reports. The aim of this study was to estimate this risk among pregnant women with ...symptomatic ZIKV infection in French territories in the Americas.
From March 2016 through November 2016, we enrolled in this prospective cohort study pregnant women with symptomatic ZIKV infection that was confirmed by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) assay. The analysis included all data collected up to April 27, 2017, the date of the last delivery in the cohort.
Among the 555 fetuses and infants in the 546 pregnancies included in the analysis, 28 (5.0%) were not carried to term or were stillborn, and 527 were born alive. Neurologic and ocular defects possibly associated with ZIKV infection were seen in 39 fetuses and infants (7.0%; 95% confidence interval, 5.0 to 9.5); of these, 10 were not carried to term because of termination of pregnancy for medical reasons, 1 was stillborn, and 28 were live-born. Microcephaly (defined as head circumference more than 2 SD below the mean for sex and gestational age) was detected in 32 fetuses and infants (5.8%), of whom 9 (1.6%) had severe microcephaly (more than 3 SD below the mean). Neurologic and ocular defects were more common when ZIKV infection occurred during the first trimester (24 of 189 fetuses and infants 12.7%) than when it occurred during the second trimester (9 of 252 3.6%) or third trimester (6 of 114 5.3%) (P=0.001).
Among pregnant women with symptomatic, PCR-confirmed ZIKV infection, birth defects possibly associated with ZIKV infection were present in 7% of fetuses and infants. Defects occurred more frequently in fetuses and infants whose mothers had been infected early in pregnancy. Longer-term follow-up of infants is required to assess any manifestations not detected at birth. (Funded by the French Ministry of Health and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02916732 .).
To estimate the rates of maternal-fetal transmission of Zika virus, adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes, and subsequent rates of asymptomatic/symptomatic congenital Zika virus infections up to the first ...week of life.
Cohort study with prospective data collection and subsequent review of fetal/neonatal outcomes.
Referral centre for prenatal diagnosis of the French Guiana Western Hospital.
Pregnant women at any stage of pregnancy with a laboratory confirmed symptomatic or asymptomatic Zika virus infection during the epidemic period in western French Guiana. The cohort enrolled 300 participants and prospectively followed their 305 fetuses/newborns.
Rate of maternal-fetal transmission of Zika virus (amniotic fluid, fetal and neonatal blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and placentas); clinical, biological, and radiological outcomes (blindly reviewed); and adverse outcomes defined as moderate signs potentially related to congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), severe complications compatible with CZS, or fetal loss. Associations between a laboratory confirmed congenital Zika virus infection and adverse fetal/neonatal outcomes were evaluated.
Maternal-fetal transmission was documented in 26% (76/291) of fetuses/newborns with complete data. Among the Zika virus positive fetuses/newborns, 45% (34/76) presented with no signs/complications at birth, 20% (15/76) with moderate signs potentially related to CZS, 21% (16/76) with severe complications compatible with CZS, and 14% (11/76) with fetal loss. Compared with the Zika virus positive fetuses/neonates, those that were identified as negative for Zika virus (215/291) were less likely to present with severe complications (5%; 10/215) or fetal loss (0.5%; 1/215; relative risk 6.9, 95% confidence interval 3.6 to 13.3). Association between a positive Zika virus test and any adverse fetal/neonatal outcome was also significant (relative risk 4.4, 2.9 to 6.6). The population attributable fraction estimates that a confirmed congenital Zika virus infection contributes to 47% of adverse outcomes and 61% of severe adverse outcomes observed.
In cases of a known maternal Zika virus infection, approximately a quarter of fetuses will become congenitally infected, of which a third will have severe complications at birth or fetal loss. The burden of CZS might be lower than initially described in South America and may not differ from other congenital infections.
It has been recently shown that increased oxidative phosphorylation, as reflected by increased mitochondrial activity, together with impairment of the mitochondrial stress response, can severely ...compromise hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) regeneration. Here we show that the NAD+-boosting agent nicotinamide riboside (NR) reduces mitochondrial activity within HSCs through increased mitochondrial clearance, leading to increased asymmetric HSC divisions. NR dietary supplementation results in a significantly enlarged pool of progenitors, without concurrent HSC exhaustion, improves survival by 80%, and accelerates blood recovery after murine lethal irradiation and limiting-HSC transplantation. In immune-deficient mice, NR increased the production of human leucocytes from hCD34+ progenitors. Our work demonstrates for the first time a positive effect of NAD+-boosting strategies on the most primitive blood stem cells, establishing a link between HSC mitochondrial stress, mitophagy, and stem-cell fate decision, and unveiling the potential of NR to improve recovery of patients suffering from hematological failure including post chemo- and radiotherapy.
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•Vitamin B3 analogs improve hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) and progenitor function•Nicotinamide riboside (NR) increases mitochondrial recycling in HSCs•In vitro NR exposure induces asymmetric mitochondrial distribution in dividing HSCs•NR dietary supplementation improves survival after HSC transplantation in mice
Naveiras and colleagues describe the effects of vitamin B3 derivatives in blood formation, of which they find nicotinamide riboside (NR) to most potently increase blood progenitors. Treating purified mouse or human blood stem cells with NR improved their mitochondrial quality and reduced the toxicity of bone marrow transplantation in mice.
Black truffle plantations are established on the basis that Tuber melanosporum Vittad. spreads from artificially inoculated trees. Although truffle cultivation has progressed tremendously over the ...past 30 years, the ecological processes underlying T. melanosporum mycelium expansion and its interactions with the rest of the fungal community over time are not completely understood. Controversy exists on how mating type distribution evolves with time and its incidence on truffle production. We studied the soil fungal community and mating type distribution in plantations before truffle production (3, 5 and 7 years and after plantation establishment) and during the production period (10, 14 and 20 years) at three distances from the tree stem: 40, 100 and 200 cm. We found that T. melanosporum developed steadily over the years as extraradical mycelium, first at the nearest part of the tree and later up to 200 cm. T. melanosporum development was not correlated with changes in other ectomycorrhizal fungi and was negatively correlated with lower relative abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and of non-root associated guilds such as moulds, yeasts and plant pathogens. Mating type frequency did not change across years. Twenty years after establishment no signs of replacement of T. melanosporum by other fungi nor biases in mating type abundance were observed in soil mycelia, indicating that T. melanosporum can colonize and dominate the surrounding soil in mature Quercus ilex L. plantations.
•T. melanosporum mycelium developed steadily in a 20-year chronosequence.•T. melanosporum development is not limited by other ECM fungi.•T. melanosporum development was correlated with lower abundance of other guilds.•Mating type frequency did not change across the years in T. melanosporum orchards.•Fruiting body production is not limited by unbalances in the mating types.
We report a case of vertical transmission of Tonate virus in a pregnant woman from French Guiana. The fetus showed severe necrotic and hemorrhagic lesions of the brain and spinal cord. Clinicians ...should be made aware of possible adverse fetal outcomes in pregnant women infected with Tonate virus.
Whether prolonged maternal viremia after Zika virus infection represents a risk factor for maternal-fetal transmission and subsequent adverse outcomes remains unclear. In this prospective cohort ...study in French Guiana, we enrolled Zika virus-infected pregnant women with a positive PCR result at inclusion and noninfected pregnant women; both groups underwent serologic testing in each trimester and at delivery during January-July 2016. Prolonged viremia was defined as ongoing virus detection >30 days postinfection. Adverse outcomes (fetal loss or neurologic anomalies) were more common in fetuses and neonates from mothers with prolonged viremia (40.0%) compared with those from infected mothers without prolonged viremia (5.3%, adjusted relative risk aRR 7.2 95% CI 0.9-57.6) or those from noninfected mothers (6.6%, aRR 6.7 95% CI 3.0-15.1). Congenital infections were confirmed more often in fetuses and neonates from mothers with prolonged viremia compared with the other 2 groups (60.0% vs. 26.3% vs. 0.0%, aRR 2.3 95% CI 0.9-5.5).
From groups to communities in western lowland gorillas Forcina, Giovanni; Vallet, Dominique; Le Gouar, Pascaline J ...
Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences,
02/2019, Volume:
286, Issue:
1896
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Social networks are the result of interactions between individuals at different temporal scales. Thus, sporadic intergroup encounters and individual forays play a central role in defining the ...dynamics of populations in social species. We assessed the rate of intergroup encounters for three western lowland gorilla ( Gorilla gorilla gorilla) groups with daily observations over 5 years, and non-invasively genotyped a larger population over four months. Both approaches revealed a social system much more dynamic than anticipated, with non-aggressive intergroup encounters that involved social play by immature individuals, exchanges of members between groups likely modulated by kinship, and absence of infanticide evidenced by infants not fathered by the silverback of the group where they were found. This resulted in a community composed of groups that interacted frequently and not-aggressively, contrasting with the more fragmented and aggressive mountain gorilla ( G. beringei beringei) societies. Such extended sociality can promote the sharing of behavioural and cultural traits, but might also increase the susceptibility of western lowland gorillas to infectious diseases that have decimated their populations in recent times.
LPWANs have recently emerged as a promising solution for enabling industrial IoT applications. To fully exploit their potential, LPWANs need to be connected to the Internet. However, the severe ...capacity constraints of LPWAN technologies challenge IPv6 support, and even 6LoWPAN-based adaptations are not sufficient. In this paper, we present Static Context Header Compression and Fragmentation (SCHC), an ultralightweight IPv6 adaptation layer designed for LPWANs, which is being standardized by the IETF.
TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43) is a ubiquitously expressed DNA-/RNA-binding protein that has been linked to numerous aspects of the mRNA life cycle. Similar to many RNA-binding proteins, TDP-43 ...expression is tightly regulated through an autoregulatory negative feedback loop. Cell function and survival depend on the strict control of TDP-43 protein levels. TDP-43 has been identified as the major constituent of ubiquitin-positive inclusions in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD). Several observations argue for a pathogenic role of elevated TDP-43 levels in these disorders. Modulation of the cycle of TDP-43 production might therefore provide a new therapeutic strategy. Using a Drosophila model mimicking key features of the TDP-43 autoregulatory feedback loop, we identified CG42724 as a genetic modulator of TDP-43 production in vivo. We found that CG42724 protein influences qualitatively and quantitatively the TDP-43 mRNA transcript pattern. CG42724 overexpression promotes the production of transcripts that can be efficiently released into the cytoplasm for protein translation. Importantly, we showed that TCERG1, the human homolog of the Drosophila CG42724 protein, also caused an increase of TDP-43 protein steady-state levels in mammalian cells. Therefore, our data suggest the possibility that targeting TCERG1 could be therapeutic in TDP-43 proteinopathies.
It is not known if use of colloid solutions containing hydroxyethyl starch (HES) to correct for intravascular deficits in high-risk surgical patients is either effective or safe.
To evaluate the ...effect of HES 130/0.4 compared with 0.9% saline for intravascular volume expansion on mortality and postoperative complications after major abdominal surgery.
Multicenter, double-blind, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial of 775 adult patients at increased risk of postoperative kidney injury undergoing major abdominal surgery at 20 university hospitals in France from February 2016 to July 2018; final follow-up was in October 2018.
Patients were randomized to receive fluid containing either 6% HES 130/0.4 diluted in 0.9% saline (n = 389) or 0.9% saline alone (n = 386) in 250-mL boluses using an individualized hemodynamic algorithm during surgery and for up to 24 hours on the first postoperative day, defined as ending at 7:59 am the following day.
The primary outcome was a composite of death or major postoperative complications at 14 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes included predefined postoperative complications within 14 days after surgery, durations of intensive care unit and hospital stays, and all-cause mortality at postoperative days 28 and 90.
Among 826 patients enrolled (mean age, 68 SD, 7 years; 91 women 12%), 775 (94%) completed the trial. The primary outcome occurred in 139 of 389 patients (36%) in the HES group and 125 of 386 patients (32%) in the saline group (difference, 3.3% 95% CI, -3.3% to 10.0%; relative risk, 1.10 95% CI, 0.91-1.34; P = .33). Among 12 prespecified secondary outcomes reported, 11 showed no significant difference, but a statistically significant difference was found in median volume of study fluid administered on day 1: 1250 mL (interquartile range, 750-2000 mL) in the HES group and 1500 mL (interquartile range, 750-2150 mL) in the saline group (median difference, 250 mL 95% CI, 83-417 mL; P = .006). At 28 days after surgery, 4.1% and 2.3% of patients had died in the HES and saline groups, respectively (difference, 1.8% 95% CI, -0.7% to 4.3%; relative risk, 1.76 95% CI, 0.79-3.94; P = .17).
Among patients at risk of postoperative kidney injury undergoing major abdominal surgery, use of HES for volume replacement therapy compared with 0.9% saline resulted in no significant difference in a composite outcome of death or major postoperative complications within 14 days after surgery. These findings do not support the use of HES for volume replacement therapy in such patients.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02502773.
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