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| 2. |
- Chng, Kern Rei, et al.
(author)
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Cartography of opportunistic pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in a tertiary hospital environment
- 2020
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In: Nature Medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1078-8956 .- 1546-170X. ; 26, s. 941-951
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although disinfection is key to infection control, the colonization patterns and resistomes of hospital-environment microbes remain underexplored. We report the first extensive genomic characterization of microbiomes, pathogens and antibiotic resistance cassettes in a tertiary-care hospital, from repeated sampling (up to 1.5 years apart) of 179 sites associated with 45 beds. Deep shotgun metagenomics unveiled distinct ecological niches of microbes and antibiotic resistance genes characterized by biofilm-forming and human-microbiome-influenced environments with corresponding patterns of spatiotemporal divergence. Quasi-metagenomics with nanopore sequencing provided thousands of high-contiguity genomes, phage and plasmid sequences (>60% novel), enabling characterization of resistome and mobilome diversity and dynamic architectures in hospital environments. Phylogenetics identified multidrug-resistant strains as being widely distributed and stably colonizing across sites. Comparisons with clinical isolates indicated that such microbes can persist in hospitals for extended periods (>8 years), to opportunistically infect patients. These findings highlight the importance of characterizing antibiotic resistance reservoirs in hospitals and establish the feasibility of systematic surveys to target resources for preventing infections. Spatiotemporal characterization of microbial diversity and antibiotic resistance in a tertiary-care hospital reveals broad distribution and persistence of antibiotic-resistant organisms that could cause opportunistic infections in a healthcare setting.
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| 3. |
- Danko, David, et al.
(author)
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A global metagenomic map of urban microbiomes and antimicrobial resistance
- 2021
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In: Cell. - : Elsevier BV. - 0092-8674 .- 1097-4172. ; 184:13, s. 3376-3393
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We present a global atlas of 4,728 metagenomic samples from mass-transit systems in 60 cities over 3 years, representing the first systematic, worldwide catalog of the urban microbial ecosystem. This atlas provides an annotated, geospatial profile of microbial strains, functional characteristics, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) markers, and genetic elements, including 10,928 viruses, 1,302 bacteria, 2 archaea, and 838,532 CRISPR arrays not found in reference databases. We identified 4,246 known species of urban microorganisms and a consistent set of 31 species found in 97% of samples that were distinct from human commensal organisms. Profiles of AMR genes varied widely in type and density across cities. Cities showed distinct microbial taxonomic signatures that were driven by climate and geographic differences. These results constitute a high-resolution global metagenomic atlas that enables discovery of organisms and genes, highlights potential public health and forensic applications, and provides a culture-independent view of AMR burden in cities.
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| 4. |
- Hussein, Rana, et al.
(author)
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Structural dynamics in the water and proton channels of photosystem II during the S2 to S3 transition
- 2021
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In: Nature Communications. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Light-driven oxidation of water to molecular oxygen is catalyzed by the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in Photosystem II (PS II). This multi-electron, multi-proton catalysis requires the transport of two water molecules to and four protons from the OEC. A high-resolution 1.89 Å structure obtained by averaging all the S states and refining the data of various time points during the S2 to S3 transition has provided better visualization of the potential pathways for substrate water insertion and proton release. Our results indicate that the O1 channel is the likely water intake pathway, and the Cl1 channel is the likely proton release pathway based on the structural rearrangements of water molecules and amino acid side chains along these channels. In particular in the Cl1 channel, we suggest that residue D1-E65 serves as a gate for proton transport by minimizing the back reaction. The results show that the water oxidation reaction at the OEC is well coordinated with the amino acid side chains and the H-bonding network over the entire length of the channels, which is essential in shuttling substrate waters and protons.
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| 5. |
- Ibrahim, Mohamed, et al.
(author)
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Untangling the sequence of events during the S-2 -> S-3 transition in photosystem II and implications for the water oxidation mechanism
- 2020
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : NATL ACAD SCIENCES. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 117:23, s. 12624-12635
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In oxygenic photosynthesis, light-driven oxidation of water to molecular oxygen is carried out by the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in photosystem II (PS II). Recently, we reported the room-temperature structures of PS II in the four (semi)stable S-states, S-1, S-2, S-3, and S-0, showing that a water molecule is inserted during the S-2 -> S-3 transition, as a new bridging O(H)-ligand between Mn1 and Ca. To understand the sequence of events leading to the formation of this last stable intermediate state before O-2 formation, we recorded diffraction and Mn X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) data at several time points during the S-2 -> S-3 transition. At the electron acceptor site, changes due to the two-electron redox chemistry at the quinones, QA and QB, are observed. At the donor site, tyrosine YZ and His190 H-bonded to it move by 50 mu s after the second flash, and Glu189 moves away from Ca. This is followed by Mn1 and Mn4 moving apart, and the insertion of OX(H) at the open coordination site of Mn1. This water, possibly a ligand of Ca, could be supplied via a "water wheel"-like arrangement of five waters next to the OEC that is connected by a large channel to the bulk solvent. XES spectra show that Mn oxidation (t of similar to 350 mu s) during the S-2 -> S-3 transition mirrors the appearance of OX electron density. This indicates that the oxidation state change and the insertion of water as a bridging atom between Mn1 and Ca are highly correlated.
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| 6. |
- Ibrahim, Mohamed, et al.
(author)
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Untangling the sequence of events during the S2 -> S3 transition in photosystem II and implications for the water oxidation mechanism
- 2020
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In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 117:23, s. 12624-12635
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In oxygenic photosynthesis, light-driven oxidation of water to molecular oxygen is carried out by the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in photosystem II (PS II). Recently, we reported the room-temperature structures of PS II in the four (semi)stable S-states, S1, S2, S3, and S0, showing that a water molecule is inserted during the S2 -> S3 transition, as a new bridging O(H)-ligand between Mn1 and Ca. To understand the sequence of events leading to the formation of this last stable intermediate state before O2 formation, we recorded diffraction and Mn X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) data at several time points during the S2 -> S3 transition. At the electron acceptor site, changes due to the two-electron redox chemistry at the quinones, QA and QB, are observed. At the donor site, tyrosine YZ and His190 H-bonded to it move by 50 μs after the second flash, and Glu189 moves away from Ca. This is followed by Mn1 and Mn4 moving apart, and the insertion of OX(H) at the open coordination site of Mn1. This water, possibly a ligand of Ca, could be supplied via a "water wheel"-like arrangement of five waters next to the OEC that is connected by a large channel to the bulk solvent. XES spectra show that Mn oxidation (τ of ∼350 μs) during the S2 -> S3 transition mirrors the appearance of OX electron density. This indicates that the oxidation state change and the insertion of water as a bridging atom between Mn1 and Ca are highly correlated.
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| 8. |
- Jansen, Iris E, et al.
(author)
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Genome-wide meta-analysis for Alzheimer's disease cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers.
- 2022
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In: Acta neuropathologica. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-0533 .- 0001-6322. ; 144:5, s. 821-842
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Amyloid-beta 42 (Aβ42) and phosphorylated tau (pTau) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) reflect core features of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) more directly than clinical diagnosis. Initiated by the European Alzheimer & Dementia Biobank (EADB), the largest collaborative effort on genetics underlying CSF biomarkers was established, including 31 cohorts with a total of 13,116 individuals (discovery n=8074; replication n=5042 individuals). Besides the APOE locus, novel associations with two other well-established AD risk loci were observed; CR1 was shown a locus for Aβ42 and BIN1 for pTau. GMNC and C16orf95 were further identified as loci for pTau, of which the latter is novel. Clustering methods exploring the influence of all known AD risk loci on the CSF protein levels, revealed 4 biological categories suggesting multiple Aβ42 and pTau related biological pathways involved in the etiology of AD. In functional follow-up analyses, GMNC and C16orf95 both associated with lateral ventricular volume, implying an overlap in genetic etiology for tau levels and brain ventricular volume.
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| 10. |
- Scutelnic, Adrian, et al.
(author)
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Management of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis Due to Adenoviral COVID-19 Vaccination.
- 2022
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In: Annals of neurology. - : Wiley. - 1531-8249 .- 0364-5134. ; 92:4, s. 562-573
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) caused by vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a rare adverse effect of adenovirus-based severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines. In March 2021, after autoimmune pathogenesis of VITT was discovered, treatment recommendations were developed. These comprised immunomodulation, non-heparin anticoagulants, and avoidance of platelet transfusion. The aim of this study was to evaluate adherence to these recommendations and its association with mortality.We used data from an international prospective registry of patients with CVT after the adenovirus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. We analyzed possible, probable, or definite VITT-CVT cases included until January 18, 2022. Immunomodulation entailed administration of intravenous immunoglobulins and/or plasmapheresis.Ninety-nine patients with VITT-CVT from 71 hospitals in 17 countries were analyzed. Five of 38 (13%), 11 of 24 (46%), and 28 of 37 (76%) of the patients diagnosed in March, April, and from May onward, respectively, were treated in-line with VITT recommendations (p<0.001). Overall, treatment according to recommendations had no statistically significant influence on mortality (14/44 [32%] vs 29/55 [52%], adjusted odds ratio [OR]=0.43, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.16-1.19). However, patients who received immunomodulation had lower mortality (19/65 [29%] vs 24/34 [70%], adjusted OR=0.19, 95% CI=0.06-0.58). Treatment with non-heparin anticoagulants instead of heparins was not associated with lower mortality (17/51 [33%] vs 13/35 [37%], adjusted OR=0.70, 95% CI=0.24-2.04). Mortality was also not significantly influenced by platelet transfusion (17/27 [63%] vs 26/72 [36%], adjusted OR=2.19, 95% CI=0.74-6.54).In patients with VITT-CVT, adherence to VITT treatment recommendations improved over time. Immunomodulation seems crucial for reducing mortality of VITT-CVT. ANN NEUROL 2022;92:562-573.
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