| 1. |
- Cruz, Raquel, et al.
(författare)
-
Novel genes and sex differences in COVID-19 severity
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Human Molecular Genetics. - : Oxford University Press. - 0964-6906 .- 1460-2083. ; 31:22, s. 3789-3806
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here, we describe the results of a genome-wide study conducted in 11 939 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) positive cases with an extensive clinical information that were recruited from 34 hospitals across Spain (SCOURGE consortium). In sex-disaggregated genome-wide association studies for COVID-19 hospitalization, genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10−8) was crossed for variants in 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci only among males (P = 1.3 × 10−22 and P = 8.1 × 10−12, respectively), and for variants in 9q21.32 near TLE1 only among females (P = 4.4 × 10−8). In a second phase, results were combined with an independent Spanish cohort (1598 COVID-19 cases and 1068 population controls), revealing in the overall analysis two novel risk loci in 9p13.3 and 19q13.12, with fine-mapping prioritized variants functionally associated with AQP3 (P = 2.7 × 10−8) and ARHGAP33 (P = 1.3 × 10−8), respectively. The meta-analysis of both phases with four European studies stratified by sex from the Host Genetics Initiative (HGI) confirmed the association of the 3p21.31 and 21q22.11 loci predominantly in males and replicated a recently reported variant in 11p13 (ELF5, P = 4.1 × 10−8). Six of the COVID-19 HGI discovered loci were replicated and an HGI-based genetic risk score predicted the severity strata in SCOURGE. We also found more SNP-heritability and larger heritability differences by age (<60 or ≥60 years) among males than among females. Parallel genome-wide screening of inbreeding depression in SCOURGE also showed an effect of homozygosity in COVID-19 hospitalization and severity and this effect was stronger among older males. In summary, new candidate genes for COVID-19 severity and evidence supporting genetic disparities among sexes are provided.
|
|
| 2. |
- Nacul, Luis, et al.
(författare)
-
European Network on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (EUROMENE) : Expert Consensus on the Diagnosis, Service Provision, and Care of People with ME/CFS in Europe
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Medicina (Kaunas). - : MDPI AG. - 1010-660X .- 1648-9144. ; 57:5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Designed by a group of ME/CFS researchers and health professionals, the European Network on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (EUROMENE) has received funding from the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)-COST action 15111-from 2016 to 2020. The main goal of the Cost Action was to assess the existing knowledge and experience on health care delivery for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in European countries, and to enhance coordinated research and health care provision in this field. We report our findings and make recommendations for clinical diagnosis, health services and care for people with ME/CFS in Europe, as prepared by the group of clinicians and researchers from 22 countries and 55 European health professionals and researchers, who have been informed by people with ME/CFS.
|
|
| 3. |
- Araújo, Mário J, et al.
(författare)
-
Proteomics reveals multiple effects of titanium dioxide and silver nanoparticles in the metabolism of turbot, Scophthalmus maximus
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Chemosphere. - : Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. - 0045-6535 .- 1879-1298. ; 308
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silver (Ag) NPs are among the most used engineered inorganic nanoparticles (NPs); however, their potential effects to marine demersal fish species, are not fully understood. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the proteomic alterations induced by sub-lethal concentrations citrate-coated 25 nm ("P25") TiO2 or polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated 15 nm Ag NPs to turbot, Scophthalmus maximus. Juvenile fish were exposed to the NPs through daily feeding for 14 days. The tested concentrations were 0, 0.75 or 1.5 mg of each NPs per kg of fish per day. The determination of NPs, Titanium and Ag levels (sp-ICP-MS/ICP-MS) and histological alterations (Transmission Electron Microscopy) supported proteomic analysis performed in the liver and kidney. Proteomic sample preparation procedure (SP3) was followed by LC-MS/MS. Label-free MS quantification methods were employed to assess differences in protein expression. Functional analysis was performed using STRING web-tool. KEGG Gene Ontology suggested terms were discussed and potential biomarkers of exposure were proposed. Overall, data shows that liver accumulated more elements than kidney, presented more histological alterations (lipid droplets counts and size) and proteomic alterations. The Differentially Expressed Proteins (DEPs) were higher in Ag NPs trial. The functional analysis revealed that both NPs caused enrichment of proteins related to generic processes (metabolic pathways). Ag NPs also affected protein synthesis and nucleic acid transcription, among other processes. Proteins related to thyroid hormone transport (Serpina7) and calcium ion binding (FAT2) were suggested as biomarkers of TiO2 NPs in liver. For Ag NPs, in kidney (and at a lower degree in liver) proteins related with metabolic activity, metabolism of exogenous substances and oxidative stress (e.g.: NADH dehydrogenase and Cytochrome P450) were suggested as potential biomarkers. Data suggests adverse effects in turbot after medium/long-term exposures and the need for additional studies to validate specific biological applications of these NPs.
|
|
| 4. |
- Arnott, Shelley E., et al.
(författare)
-
Widespread variation in salt tolerance within freshwater zooplankton species reduces the predictability of community-level salt tolerance
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Limnology and Oceanography Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2378-2242. ; 8:1, s. 8-18
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The salinization of freshwaters is a global threat to aquatic biodiversity. We quantified variation in chloride (Cl-) tolerance of 19 freshwater zooplankton species in four countries to answer three questions: (1) How much variation in Cl- tolerance is present among populations? (2) What factors predict intraspecific variation in Cl- tolerance? (3) Must we account for intraspecific variation to accurately predict community Cl- tolerance? We conducted field mesocosm experiments at 16 sites and compiled acute LC(50)s from published laboratory studies. We found high variation in LC(50)s for Cl- tolerance in multiple species, which, in the experiment, was only explained by zooplankton community composition. Variation in species-LC50 was high enough that at 45% of lakes, community response was not predictable based on species tolerances measured at other sites. This suggests that water quality guidelines should be based on multiple populations and communities to account for large intraspecific variation in Cl- tolerance.
|
|
| 5. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(författare)
-
Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
|
|
| 6. |
- Biurrun, Idoia, et al.
(författare)
-
Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Journal of Vegetation Science. - Oxford : John Wiley & Sons. - 1100-9233 .- 1654-1103. ; 32:4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Journal of Vegetation Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for Vegetation Science.Aims: Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the former three groups). Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 126,524 plots of eight standard grain sizes from the GrassPlot database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m2 and calculated the mean richness and standard deviations, as well as maximum, minimum, median, and first and third quartiles for each combination of grain size, taxonomic group, biome, region, vegetation type and phytosociological class. Results: Patterns of plant diversity in vegetation types and biomes differ across grain sizes and taxonomic groups. Overall, secondary (mostly semi-natural) grasslands and natural grasslands are the richest vegetation type. The open-access file ”GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks” and the web tool “GrassPlot Diversity Explorer” are now available online (https://edgg.org/databases/GrasslandDiversityExplorer) and provide more insights into species richness patterns in the Palaearctic open habitats. Conclusions: The GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks provide high-quality data on species richness in open habitat types across the Palaearctic. These benchmark data can be used in vegetation ecology, macroecology, biodiversity conservation and data quality checking. While the amount of data in the underlying GrassPlot database and their spatial coverage are smaller than in other extensive vegetation-plot databases, species recordings in GrassPlot are on average more complete, making it a valuable complementary data source in macroecology. © 2021 The Authors.
|
|
| 7. |
- Castrovilli, Mattea Carmen, et al.
(författare)
-
Improved reuse and storage performances at room temperature of a new environmental-friendly lactate oxidase biosensor made by ambient electrospray immobilization
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Green Chemistry. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1463-9262 .- 1463-9270. ; :13, s. 5257-5266
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new, environmentally friendly lactate oxidase (LOX) based biosensor for lactate detection, with unprecedented reuse and storage capabilities at room temperature, has been manufactured using the ambient electrospray deposition (ESD) technique. This technology allows for an efficient, green and easy ambient soft-landing immobilization of the LOX enzyme on a cheap commercial screen-printed Prussian blue/carbon electrode (PB/C-SPE), employing sustainable chemistry. This study shows how ESD can confer the biosensor the ability to be stored at ambient pressure and temperature for long periods without compromising the enzymatic activity. The fabricated biosensor shows a storage capability for up to 90 days, without any particular care under storage conditions, and a reuse performance for up to 24 measurements on both the electrode just prepared and on a three-months-old electrode. The LOX-based biosensor has been tested for lactate detection in the linear range of 0.1–1 mM with a limit of detection of 0.07 ± 0.02 mM and does not show any memory effects. The absence of an entrapment matrix as well as any additional hazardous chemicals during the immobilization phase makes the process competitive in terms of environmental sustainability and toxicity. Moreover, the application of a new electrospray deposition cycle on the used biosensors makes the biosensors work again with performances comparable to those of freshly made ones. This demonstrates that the technique is excellent for recycling and eliminates the waste of disposable devices.
|
|
| 8. |
- Franchi, Daniele, et al.
(författare)
-
Synthesis and Characterization of New Organic Dyes Containing the Indigo Core
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Molecules. - : MDPI AG. - 1431-5157 .- 1420-3049. ; 25:15, s. 3377-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new series of symmetrical organic dyes containing an indigo central core decorated with different electron donor groups have been prepared, starting from Tyrian Purple and using the Pd-catalyzed Stille-Migita coupling process. The effect of substituents on the spectroscopic properties of the dyes has been investigated theoretically and experimentally. In general, all dyes presented intense light absorption bands, both in the blue and red regions of the visible spectrum, conferring them a bright green color in solution. Using the same approach, an asymmetrically substituted D-A-pi-A green dye, bearing a triarylamine electron donor and the cyanoacrylate acceptor/anchoring group, has been synthesized for the first time and fully characterized, confirming that spectroscopic and electrochemical properties are consistent with a possible application in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC).
|
|
| 9. |
- Hebert, Marie-Pier, et al.
(författare)
-
Lake salinization drives consistent losses of zooplankton abundance and diversity across coordinated mesocosm experiments
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Limnology and Oceanography Letters. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 2378-2242. ; 8:1, s. 19-29
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human-induced salinization increasingly threatens inland waters; yet we know little about the multifaceted response of lake communities to salt contamination. By conducting a coordinated mesocosm experiment of lake salinization across 16 sites in North America and Europe, we quantified the response of zooplankton abundance and (taxonomic and functional) community structure to a broad gradient of environmentally relevant chloride concentrations, ranging from 4 to ca. 1400 mg Cl- L-1. We found that crustaceans were distinctly more sensitive to elevated chloride than rotifers; yet, rotifers did not show compensatory abundance increases in response to crustacean declines. For crustaceans, our among-site comparisons indicate: (1) highly consistent decreases in abundance and taxon richness with salinity; (2) widespread chloride sensitivity across major taxonomic groups (Cladocera, Cyclopoida, and Calanoida); and (3) weaker loss of functional than taxonomic diversity. Overall, our study demonstrates that aggregate properties of zooplankton communities can be adversely affected at chloride concentrations relevant to anthropogenic salinization in lakes.
|
|
| 10. |
- Hintz, William D., et al.
(författare)
-
Current water quality guidelines across North America and Europe do not protect lakes from salinization
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 119:9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Human-induced salinization caused by the use of road deicing salts, agricultural practices, mining operations, and climate change is a major threat to the biodiversity and functioning of freshwater ecosystems. Yet, it is unclear if freshwater ecosystems are protected from salinization by current water quality guidelines. Leveraging an experimental network of land-based and in-lake mesocosms across North America and Europe, we tested how salinization—indicated as elevated chloride (Cl−) concentration—will affect lake food webs and if two of the lowest Cl− thresholds found globally are sufficient to protect these food webs. Our results indicated that salinization will cause substantial zooplankton mortality at the lowest Cl− thresholds established in Canada (120 mg Cl−/L) and the United States (230 mg Cl−/L) and throughout Europe where Cl− thresholds are generally higher. For instance, at 73% of our study sites, Cl− concentrations that caused a ≥50% reduction in cladoceran abundance were at or below Cl− thresholds in Canada, in the United States, and throughout Europe. Similar trends occurred for copepod and rotifer zooplankton. The loss of zooplankton triggered a cascading effect causing an increase in phytoplankton biomass at 47% of study sites. Such changes in lake food webs could alter nutrient cycling and water clarity and trigger declines in fish production. Current Cl− thresholds across North America and Europe clearly do not adequately protect lake food webs. Water quality guidelines should be developed where they do not exist, and there is an urgent need to reassess existing guidelines to protect lake ecosystems from human-induced salinization.
|
|
